Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic

I am not sure how I heard about Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic, by Sam Quinones, but I am very happy that I read it.

This book is an eye-opening account of the overprescription of pain medicines that ultimately lead to widespread opiate addiction. Due to this addition, heroin addiction and something called Mexican black tar heroin became popular.

If you have ever wondered how the opiate crisis developed in our country then this book is for you. You will not find it an easy read but do keep reading. The investigative reporting is amazing. And the road that lead to this addiction is fasinating.

Reading this book will dispell many myths you have about opiate addiction.  This is not an inner-city issue, involving gangs and the gang cartel. This issue arose not in the big cities, but in the heartland of our country, in middle to upper-class suburbia.

Young men and women, as well as adults, injured in sports quickly became addicted to pain medicines. What happened when those “legal” prescriptions stopped? People turned to street drugs.

The story of how Mexican black tar heroin came to the United States is fascinating. And this book examines how difficult it has been to stop the flow of these drugs into our country.

The author gives us a very detailed account of how we got to were we are today. He is a master storyteller.

I learned so much reading this. If you have the interest and the time to read this book do so.

My rating:

4.5 out of 5 stars

Book Reviews:

1. https://www.acep.org/how-we-serve/sections/medical-directors/news/april-2018/book-review–dreamland-the-true-tale-of-americas-opiate-epidemic-by-sam-quinones/
2. https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(18)30159-8/pdf
3. http://literalmagazine.com/dreamland-the-true-tale-of-americas-opiate-epidemic/

Book Discussion Questions:

1. http://www.mwhealth.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Dreamland_Guide.pdf

Something About the Author:

If you liked Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic, you may also enjoy reading Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, by Atul Gawande.