T he middle class is being decimated, but not by diabetes, heart disease, cancer or any of the other usual suspects. It’s drugs, alcohol, and suicide that are the primary drivers behind the shocking mortality rates for middle-aged Americans with no more than a high school education. Many of these deaths stem from overdose (opiates), cirrhosis of the liver (alcohol), and suicide. Drinking oneself to oblivion or nodding away the days on pain pills is in itself a form of resignation, not dissimilar from actual suicide. While middle-aged Americans are dying from drugs, alcohol, and suicide, so are young adults overdosing in obscene numbers. The CDC reports that heroin use more than doubled among young adults between the ages of 18-25 in the past decade. And out of this group, 45% were addicted to prescription opioids before making the switch to heroin.
The Addiction DEVASTATION of the Middle Class
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