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findyourgoldenhour 's review for:
Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic
by Sam Quinones
Wow. If you want to understand how America now finds itself in the grips of a staggering opioid epidemic, read this book. It’s non-fiction that reads like a good novel, only sadly, it’s all a true story.
The author lays out how a perfect storm of a new type of drug suppliers (think small cell operators instead of giant drug cartels) and doctors prescribing opioids at unprecedented levels, combined with a savvy drug manufacturer poised to make a huge profit came together to get us to where we are now: there is an overdose death by opiates every half hour in this country. Drug overdoses passes fatal vehicle accidents nationwide for the first time in 2008.
The story is fascinating and tragic, enraging and truly sad. People trusted doctors and ended up addicted to opioids. When they could no longer get them legally, because the morphine molecule is so strong, they turned to heroin. A tiny village in Mexico supplied the mid-sized cities in this country and turned many of them into hollowed out drug dens, never using weapons or carrying large amounts to stay under the radar of law enforcement. They’d stake out methadone clinics to get new customers. Soon wealthy white suburbs became the biggest customer base.
There is plenty of blame to go around here, but the book ends on a positive note for one Ohio town that’s been particularly hard hit. I think every American would benefit from reading this book; we can’t begin to fix the problems if we don’t understand them. And if you’re a reader like me (living in an east coast urban setting, whose life is largely untouched by this epidemic), this book will give you insights and understanding into what is happening to our country.
The author lays out how a perfect storm of a new type of drug suppliers (think small cell operators instead of giant drug cartels) and doctors prescribing opioids at unprecedented levels, combined with a savvy drug manufacturer poised to make a huge profit came together to get us to where we are now: there is an overdose death by opiates every half hour in this country. Drug overdoses passes fatal vehicle accidents nationwide for the first time in 2008.
The story is fascinating and tragic, enraging and truly sad. People trusted doctors and ended up addicted to opioids. When they could no longer get them legally, because the morphine molecule is so strong, they turned to heroin. A tiny village in Mexico supplied the mid-sized cities in this country and turned many of them into hollowed out drug dens, never using weapons or carrying large amounts to stay under the radar of law enforcement. They’d stake out methadone clinics to get new customers. Soon wealthy white suburbs became the biggest customer base.
There is plenty of blame to go around here, but the book ends on a positive note for one Ohio town that’s been particularly hard hit. I think every American would benefit from reading this book; we can’t begin to fix the problems if we don’t understand them. And if you’re a reader like me (living in an east coast urban setting, whose life is largely untouched by this epidemic), this book will give you insights and understanding into what is happening to our country.