--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The cost savings weren’t what did the…" description: "\"“The cost savings weren’t what did the trick, though. Treatment has always been more effective and cheaper than prison for true drug addicts. What’s ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/sam-quinones-45607_african-american_the-cost-savings-weren-t-what-did-the-tr_710982.jpg" --- # The cost savings weren’t what did the trick, though… ![“The cost savings weren’t what did the trick, though. Treatment has always been more effective and cheaper than prison for true drug addicts. What’s changed, Norman said, is that no longer are most of the accused African American inner-city crack users and dealers. Most of the new Tennessee junkies…” quote by Sam Quinones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/sam-quinones-45607_african-american_the-cost-savings-weren-t-what-did-the-tr_710982.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/sam-quinones-45607_african-american_the-cost-savings-weren-t-what-did-the-tr_710982.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39a/sam-quinones-45607_african-american_the-cost-savings-weren-t-what-did-the-tr_710982.jpg) > ““The cost savings weren’t what did the trick, though. Treatment has always been more effective and cheaper than prison for true drug addicts. What’s changed, Norman said, is that no longer are most of the accused African American inner-city crack users and dealers. Most of the new Tennessee junkies come from the white middle and upper-middle classes, and from the state’s white rural heartland—people who vote for, donate to, live near, do business with, or are related to the majority of Tennessee legislators. As”” [Sam Quinones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-quinones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The shift in drug addiction demographics shows that opioid abuse now affects affluent white communities, challenging stereotypes and influencing policy. **In simple terms:** Opioid addiction has moved from inner‑city Black users to white middle‑class users, changing public perception and policy. Key Takeaway Recognize that addiction cuts across class and race; address it with evidence‑based policies. Themes addiction policy social class stigma healthcare Mood concerned analytical hopeful Type analytical policy informative When to use this quote - public health campaigns - legislative hearings - community outreach - treatment program design Key Concepts epidemiology social determinants public health political economy Questions to Reflect On - How does demographic change affect public support for treatment? - What policies can reduce stigma across classes? A Different Perspective The focus on cost savings may overlook the need for comprehensive prevention and long‑term support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addicts/) [African american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) [Cost savings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost-savings/) [Drug Addicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-addicts/) ## Related quotes > [So many kids are fat drug addicts these days, it's almost as if Rush Limbaugh had puppies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/so-many-kids-are-fat-drug-addicts-these-days-it-s-almost-as-if-rush/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [In your town I cop me a pound, show me one and I'll roll one. All my niggas straight drug addicts cause it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/in-your-town-i-cop-me-a-pound-show-me-one-and-i-ll-roll-one-all-my/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [I feel like all I've done lately is play really sexually-charged drug addicts. I don't know what's wrong with me. I've gotta go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/i-feel-like-all-i-ve-done-lately-is-play-really-sexually-charged-drug/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [Like most people I knew, I thought drug addicts were the kinds of people we see in doorways in neighbourhoods most of us try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sheff/like-most-people-i-knew-i-thought-drug-addicts-were-the-kinds-of/) [David Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sheff/) > [“Drug addicts, especially young ones, are conformists flocking together in sticky groups, and I do not write for groups, nor approve of group therapy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/drug-addicts-especially-young-ones-are-conformists-flocking-together/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Why is it drug addicts and computer aficionados are both called users?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-stoll/why-is-it-drug-addicts-and-computer-aficionados-are-both-called-users/) [Clifford Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-stoll/) > [Why is it that drug addicts and computer aficionados are both called users?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-stoll/why-is-it-that-drug-addicts-and-computer-aficionados-are-both-called/) [Clifford Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-stoll/) > [I always got along with all types of people - popular people as well as drug addicts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/i-always-got-along-with-all-types-of-people-popular-people-as-well-as/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [“Drug addicts had their drugs. Alcoholics had their bottles. Serial killers had their murders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-c-scott-2/drug-addicts-had-their-drugs-alcoholics-had-their-bottles-serial/) [Jess C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-c-scott-2/) > [Drug addicts are so funny that way. Just spinning around, lost in their own little world. Doing so much, accomplishing so little. How sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-st-james/drug-addicts-are-so-funny-that-way-just-spinning-around-lost-in-their/) [James St. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-st-james/) > [One thing about hanging out with a bunch of clean drug addicts, everyone is just super similar to you. So that has been awesome.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-doughty/one-thing-about-hanging-out-with-a-bunch-of-clean-drug-addicts/) [Mike Doughty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-doughty/) > [“Being mad at a drug addict for doing what drug addicts do, is like being mad at a shark for doing what sharks do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus/being-mad-at-a-drug-addict-for-doing-what-drug-addicts-do-is-like/) [Oliver Markus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus/) > [“replicates the feeling provided by an illegal drug that addicts will kill to possess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quinn-loftis/replicates-the-feeling-provided-by-an-illegal-drug-that-addicts-will/) [Quinn Loftis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quinn-loftis/) > [I found myself being more and more involved with people who were rejected by society - with drug addicts, alcoholism, battered this, battered that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-diana/i-found-myself-being-more-and-more-involved-with-people-who-were/) [Princess Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-diana/) > [You have drug addicts that are now walking around this city looking for a fix, and that's the reason why they were breaking in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-nagin/you-have-drug-addicts-that-are-now-walking-around-this-city-looking/) [Ray Nagin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-nagin/) ## More by Sam Quinones > [“When your kid’s dying from a brain tumor or leukemia, the whole community shows up. They bring casseroles. They pray for you. They send…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-quinones/when-your-kid-s-dying-from-a-brain-tumor-or-leukemia-the-whole/) [Sam Quinones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-quinones/) > [“Excess contaminated the best of America. Caltech churned out brilliant students, yet too many of them now went not to science but to Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-quinones/excess-contaminated-the-best-of-america-caltech-churned-out-brilliant/) [Sam Quinones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-quinones/) > [“Certain parasites in nature exert the kind of control that makes a host act contrary to its own interests. One protozoan, Toxoplasma gondii, reproduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-quinones/certain-parasites-in-nature-exert-the-kind-of-control-that-makes-a/) [Sam Quinones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-quinones/) > [“Worldwide pharmaceutical opiate production rose steadily but it was the United States...that now consumed 83 percent of the world's oxycodone and fully 99 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-quinones/worldwide-pharmaceutical-opiate-production-rose-steadily-but-it-was/) [Sam Quinones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-quinones/) > [“In fact, pain was really not a vital sign, after all, for unlike the four real vital signs it cannot be measured objectively and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-quinones/in-fact-pain-was-really-not-a-vital-sign-after-all-for-unlike-the/) [Sam Quinones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-quinones/) > [“Most of the country’s twenty-eight hundred drug courts are set up to divert drug abusers away from jail and prison and into treatment somewhere.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-quinones/most-of-the-country-s-twenty-eight-hundred-drug-courts-are-set-up-to/) [Sam Quinones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-quinones/) > [“Why then do we wonder that heroin is everywhere? In our isolation, heroin thrives; that's its natural habitat. And our very search for painlessness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-quinones/why-then-do-we-wonder-that-heroin-is-everywhere-in-our-isolation/) [Sam Quinones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-quinones/) [Explore all 8 Sam Quinones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-quinones/) ## More Addicts quotes > [Taxpayers would likely be responsible for treating addicts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/taxpayers-would-likely-be-responsible-for-treating-addicts/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [Then they're like addicts; they can't help themselves... They will steal, cheat, embezzle and commit other crimes just to get money to gamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/then-they-re-like-addicts-they-can-t-help-themselves-they-will-steal/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [So many kids are fat drug addicts these days, it's almost as if Rush Limbaugh had puppies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/so-many-kids-are-fat-drug-addicts-these-days-it-s-almost-as-if-rush/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the need to escape from a harsh reality. There are more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/it-is-not-heroin-or-cocaine-that-makes-one-an-addict-it-is-the-need/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [Then there are the addicts, the hunger addicts, the rage addicts, the poverty addicts , and power addicts, and the pure addicts who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeet-thayil/then-there-are-the-addicts-the-hunger-addicts-the-rage-addicts-the/) [Jeet Thayil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeet-thayil/) > [When people who believe themselves to be addicts or alcoholics come under great stress or trauma, they mentally give themselves permission to drink or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-prentiss/when-people-who-believe-themselves-to-be-addicts-or-alcoholics-come/) [Chris Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-prentiss/) > [There are criminals who are drug users, but most addicts are criminals only by virtue of prohibition or from resorting to crime to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-sugerman/there-are-criminals-who-are-drug-users-but-most-addicts-are-criminals/) Danny Sugerman > [I found myself being more and more involved with people who were rejected by society - with drug addicts, alcoholism, battered this, battered that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-diana/i-found-myself-being-more-and-more-involved-with-people-who-were/) [Princess Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-diana/) > [Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts potential madmen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/ambition-is-a-drug-that-makes-its-addicts-potential-madmen/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [“replicates the feeling provided by an illegal drug that addicts will kill to possess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quinn-loftis/replicates-the-feeling-provided-by-an-illegal-drug-that-addicts-will/) [Quinn Loftis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quinn-loftis/) > [“Can I tell you the truth? I mean this isn’t the TV news is it? Here's what I think the truth is: We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/can-i-tell-you-the-truth-i-mean-this-isn-t-the-tv-news-is-it-here-s/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“As each day passed the community became more and more indoctrinated into the world of psychobabble. It was used to keep patients in subservient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-d-stephanie-schoenberger/as-each-day-passed-the-community-became-more-and-more-indoctrinated/) M.D Stephanie Schoenberger > [Frankly I'm not great with heroin addicts. I tried heroin, but it was by accident. I'm not great with that level of substance abuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/frankly-i-m-not-great-with-heroin-addicts-i-tried-heroin-but-it-was/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) > [Addicts have incredible energy, it's just all directed toward one goal. But what incredible luck and grace addicts have. You hear about it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bucky-sinister/addicts-have-incredible-energy-it-s-just-all-directed-toward-one-goal/) [Bucky Sinister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bucky-sinister/) > [So are you an inmate or a rubbernecker?" she asks. "Rubbernecker," I answer without hesitation. "You?" "I'm a screw. Or on staff, anyway. Used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-beukes/so-are-you-an-inmate-or-a-rubbernecker-she-asks-rubbernecker-i-answer/) [Lauren Beukes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-beukes/) [Browse all 151 Addicts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addicts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The cost savings weren’t what did the trick, though. Treatment has always been more effective and cheaper than prison for true drug addicts. What’s changed, Norman said, is that no longer are most of the accused African American inner-city crack users and dealers. Most of the new Tennessee junkies come from the white middle and upper-middle classes, and from the state’s white rural heartland—people who vote for, donate to, live near, do business with, or are related to the majority of Tennessee legislators. 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