The War on Drugs, Racialized Capitalism, and Health Care Utilization Among White People Who Use Drugs in 22 Rural Appalachian Counties

Objectives. To analyze War on Drugs encounters and their relationships to health care utilization among White people who use drugs (PWUD) in 22 Appalachian rural counties in Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, and North Carolina. Methods. We recruited White PWUD using chain referral sampling in 2018 to 2020. Surveys asked about criminal–legal encounters, unmet health care needs, and other covariates. We used generalized estimating equations to regress unmet need on criminal–legal encounters in multivariable models. Results. In this sample (n 5 957), rates of stop and search, arrest, incarceration, and community supervision were high (44.0%, 26.8%, 36.3%, and 31.1%, respectively), as was unmet need (68.5%). Criminal–legal encounters were unrelated to unmet need (stops: adjusted prevalence ratio [APR] 5 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] 5 0.97, 1.32; arrest: APR 5 0.95; 95% CI 5 0.78, 1.15; incarceration: APR 5 1.01; 95% CI 5 0.89, 1.14; community supervision: APR 5 0.99; 95% CI 5 0.90, 1.09). Conclusions. Contrasting with findings from predominantly Black urban areas, criminal–legal encounters and unmet need were unrelated among White Appalachian PWUD. Research should explore whether and under what conditions White supremacy’s benefits might buffer adverse impacts of the War on Drugs in Appalachia.