5.0

While Empire of Pain was a deep-dive into one cause of the opiate epidemic, this book goes wide to show all the different players from rural Mexican rancheros selling balloons of black tar heroin to pill mill doctors writing scripts at $200 a visit to the unfortunate doctor who unintentionally led the medical community to believe opiates weren't addictive. It's an engaging read and will certainly leave you with a good understanding of not only how opiate epidemic happened but also how the drug trade works.