Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic in The Roundtable

May 17, 2018 Sera rated it really liked it

Shelves: kindle, non-fiction, parenting, own

This book provides an informed perspective on how American became a country of opiate addicts. Quinones explains how the perfect storm hit certain elements of rural and suburban America at the same time. What started out as a systematic campaign by a drug manufacturer which had falsely claimed that OxyCotin was not addictive (while at the same time making the case that pain was the 5th vital sign of health care) led to physicians oversubscribing the use of this medication. This result was also f This book provides an informed perspective on how American became a country of opiate addicts. Quinones explains how the perfect storm hit certain elements of rural and suburban America at the same time. What started out as a systematic campaign by a drug manufacturer which had falsely claimed that OxyCotin was not addictive (while at the same time making the case that pain was the 5th vital sign of health care) led to physicians oversubscribing the use of this medication. This result was also fueled by the insurance companies' refusal to pay for the holistic care of a patient and their willingness instead, to pay primary care physicians per visit, thereby incentivizing them to see as many patients as possible per day. These doctors failed to assess whether a patient's pain was getting better, what the cause of the pain might be, etc. They had not been properly trained to do this in medical school, and since they were operating under the belief that the OxyCotin was not addictive, they continued to increase the dosage amounts of this drug for their patients. Some doctors went so far as to create pill mills in certain towns, such as Columbus, Portland and Charlotte, where for cash they would dispense huge quantities of the medications to local residents. These doctors made millions of dollars off of these people and created communities filled with addicts.

At the same time, a group of Mexicans came up with a way in which to make black tar heroin. They also created a business model where they would deliver or meet their clients and provide superior customer service, such as giving away free product in exchange for these buyers finding new ones. They were clean cut, non-violent and easy to replace once caught. As the OxyCotin ran out of money to buy pills, they turned to black tar heroin as a replacement. It was just as effective, cheaper and easier to get than OxyCotin. And then people started dying....

Quinones describes how once it was white kids who were dying (instead of blacks who had previously faced a similar situation when using crack cocaine) state legislators and local health officials started to focus on recovery instead of incarceration. He ends the book with the hope that the country can work its way through this epidemic.

I only gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 because it is written in a disjointed way. I understand the complexity of all of the variables that come into play when it comes to this issue but it would have been an outstanding book if the narrative moved along at a smoother pace. Irrespective of this flaw, I still highly recommend this book. ...more

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Dec 13, 2017 Lauren rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: post-trump

Four stars because I learned a lot reading this book. (I thought the opioid crisis was just about prescription drug use. I had no idea there was this other, tar heroin thing going on. That’s how little I knew). But really, this book has some flaws that make it more of a three star read. It jumped all around from story to story in a trendy way, which irritates me a bit, but on top of that, it was very repetitive. I get it. OxyContin doesn’t include Tylenol so it doesn’t mess with your liver. The ...more

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