Please go to PBS Newshour to read the full article. 

By: Jenae Addison

~~Excerpt

The opioid epidemic in the United States has largely centered on white Americans, who account for roughly 80 percent of opioid overdose victims. But the national attention on white victims has pushed minorities to the sidelines, even as the number of opioid-related deaths among non-whites is on the rise.

Non-whites make up 20 percent of deaths involving prescription and non-prescription opioids in the U.S. According to recent government figures, the number is growing.

And some experts believe the number would be even higher if minorities had the same access to health care as whites — highlighting the complex underlying racial disparities in the U.S. health care system.