Being affluent or rich doesn't makes your life meaningful by itself.

Some very poor workers enjoy their craft and are 100% fulfilled by it, some very rich celebrities lost themselves in their money and fame. I tend to think that having a community has more importance than money in that regard. People survived in the past by working 12+ hours a day 7 days a week, but they had strong family bond (someone sick wouldn't get paid, no welfare, no pension, &c ..).

If anything (too much) money enables you to go down the rabbit hole and amplify your vices.

That some poor guys are trying to get to your country doesn't mean much, this can be said about most countries in the world these days in some way or the other. Its not easy, and often even feasible for people to move their life, probably forever, half around the world. I claim from my experience that most americans have no clue how life is different compared to say some western europe country. You can't grasp it from internet, nor few days tourist visit.

And another claim - if they knew, and moving would be painless easy cheap weekend effort, you would see much of US population move out someplace better, mainly those with lower incomes.

Its really THAT different. Less pressure for monetary success and pressures in general, much less crime, system generally helps you much more when you hit the bottom, healthcare is a topic on its own and so on. US used to be great place although never easy. Then it got OK. Now, if I would be moving, I would consider every single continent, including Antarctica as new home rather than US. And I am stating this as a person who in every country I lived so far belonged in say top 5% earners in population, and I would be a very much OK in US too.

It’s not a simple issue, and everyone is at risk, but higher risk groups are this on the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.

https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/259261/ASPEEconomicOpp...

(1) The prevalence of drug overdose deaths and opioid prescriptions has risen unevenly across the county, with rural areas more heavily affected. Specific geographic areas, such as Appalachia, parts of the West and the Midwest, and New England, have seen higher prevalence than other areas. (2) Poverty, unemployment rates, and the employment-to-population ratio are highly correlated with the prevalence of prescription opioids and with substance use measures. On average, counties with worse economic prospects are more likely to have higher rates of opioid prescriptions, opioid-related hospitalizations, and drug overdose deaths. (3) Some high-poverty regions of the country were relatively isolated from the opioid epidemic, as shown by our substance use measures, as of 2016.

Still as 3 can attest and as you said, it isn’t simple.

* It’s not a simple issue though. Thoroughly affluent kids get hooked. Affluent parents get hooked.*

Didn't some affluent, highly educated guys go to Syria to join terrorists? Anyone can feel left out, ignored - even the wealthy and educated people. Maybe the breakdown of family structures, not having good friendships/relationships, loneliness contribute to these problems? People long to be a part of something- when that doesn't happen, they numb themselves with drugs, join criminal gangs etc.

This is not something that can be fixed by passing some laws or demonizing the affected people, it requires a more empathetic approach than use of force or law.

I think it’s something very much societal. In Japan or China, Vietnam, etc., drug use is almost always seen in a negative light. It’s not about sowing wild oats, having forbidden fun, an outlet for hardship, etc. They’re always denigrated in all media, in society, in school, in music, films, at work, etc. It’s never any kind of cool in any way. It’s shunned ostracized outlawed and unaccepted. Does that map well to our society? I’m afraid not much. We’ll have to find another way out.

You would say there’s a 1:1 relationship between countries and societies?

Well, politicians and American media tend to sell Mexico as a 3rd-world hellhole (which it isn’t) and Canada as a socialist utopia with death panels and high taxes (which it isn’t). So people find another escape while feeling helpless.

This assumes helplessness is a main cause, if it were, why aren’t helpless people in other places equally affected, say Japan, India, Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, etc?