Dopesick

What is Dopesick?

Dave's book was an everything you could want to know about the current opioid epidemic and how we got here in America and especially in Appalachia. From smoking opium, to injecting morphine and later heroine, opioid usage did not take off in Appalachia until the introduction of prescription pain killers. Purdue industries promoted and distributed the pills OxyContin as a non-addictive pain killer for effective treatment of acute and chronic pain. The pills were wildly over prescribed and distributed through various pill mills resulting in massive abuse and addiction.

Dopesick is the pain and suffering resulting from trying to break the addition to opioids. The suffering is so bad that people will sacrifice everything to chase the next hit. The current policies focusing on punishment and imprisonment rather than treating it as an illness and health crisis has not worked. It is a tremendous problem that is killing many Americans. It will require years of long term drug maintenance programs and added healthcare. Maybe the Sackler family can foot some of the bill from their profits.