Toward lasting private land rural benefits with profit incentives.
A flu epidemic can be stemmed and treated as individuals bring themselves or family members in for medical care. But a meth epidemic is much harder to stop.
As an illegal substance, there are barriers between meth addicts and cures: the risk of imprisonment, fines, loss of child custody, and stigma from the sober community. On top of this, methamphetamine affects the decision-making parts of the brain, making it physiologically and psychologically much more difficult to quit. [Read more…]
Rural Appalachia is in long-standing poverty, and wherever coal mines have been and been depleted, the land health is very poor. We have populations of people without work, without money, and in poor health. In another post we’ve seen the prevalence of opioid addiction in rural America, and in Local Costs of Meth in Montgomery County, VA we caught a glimpse of meth addiction as well.
The full scope of meth addiction is intimidating, however, and causes much more damage than just high costs for taxpayers. Meth addiction in rural America is a fast growing epidemic, a problem of public health more so than justice. And meth addiction poses a danger for the entire rural community. [Read more…]