548 pages
English language
Published May 11, 2018
Chronicles America's more than twenty-year struggle with opioid addiction, from the introduction of OxyContin in 1996, through the spread of addiction in distressed communities in Central Appalachia, to the current national crisis.
Nur drei Sterne für den Sachbuchstil - die Formulierungen waren mir zu journalistisch, und das Buch ist so redundant, als hätte es kein Lektorat gesehen. Ich nehme an, es sind zu einem Buch zusammengesetzte einzelne Reportagen. Aber es stand so viel drin, was ich noch nicht wusste. (Als Begleitmaterial zu "Demon Copperhead" gelesen, weil es in vielen Rezensionen erwähnt wird.)
Beth Macy's Dopesick examines the opioid and heroin epidemic in rural America from the ground level, choosing to focus on the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia (along the I-81 corridor) and coal country in West Virginia—both areas ravaged first by the overprescription of painkillers and subsequently hit by an influx of heroin imported by dealers from northern cities like Baltimore. Where Sam Quinones' Dreamland adopted a national focus and sussed out the complex causes of the current heroin epidemic (e.g. the importation of black tar heroin from Mexico; overprescription of painkillers; deindustrialization), Macy's work is able to show how these broader currents in American history intersected in the small communities of New Market, Woodstock, Winchester, and Roanoke. That being said, I gained a lot more from this book precisely because I had read Quinones' book earlier. The weakness of Macy's book is that she tends to brush past many integral aspects …
Beth Macy's Dopesick examines the opioid and heroin epidemic in rural America from the ground level, choosing to focus on the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia (along the I-81 corridor) and coal country in West Virginia—both areas ravaged first by the overprescription of painkillers and subsequently hit by an influx of heroin imported by dealers from northern cities like Baltimore. Where Sam Quinones' Dreamland adopted a national focus and sussed out the complex causes of the current heroin epidemic (e.g. the importation of black tar heroin from Mexico; overprescription of painkillers; deindustrialization), Macy's work is able to show how these broader currents in American history intersected in the small communities of New Market, Woodstock, Winchester, and Roanoke. That being said, I gained a lot more from this book precisely because I had read Quinones' book earlier. The weakness of Macy's book is that she tends to brush past many integral aspects of the epidemic; for example, she often mentions fentanyl-laced heroin and the importation of 'cheap' heroin without further explaining the central role played by the tenacious Mexican cartels that Quinones so carefully examined.
I should add that I found this book particularly interesting, too, because I previously lived in Harrisonburg, VA which is located roughly halfway between the cities and communities that Macy examines in her book. I also have family who live in Roanoke, VA, and found myself often thinking 'Oh, wow, I know exactly where that is!"
Macy organizes the book chronologically and thematically into three sections that deal with 1. the rise of Purdue Pharma and the much-touted painkiller OxyContin; 2. the widespread abuse of Oxycontin and the gradual transition made by thousands of users from prescription pills to cheaper heroin; 3. the very real toll that the epidemic has taken on users and their families. Interspersed throughout Macy does a great job informing readers about the latest science on addiction, urging them to consider addiction a "disease" and not a personal character flaw, and communicating the real need for comprehensive medical and rehabilitation coverage so that addicts can start on a road to real recovery.
The book is tragic and has no happy endings. Many of the addicts Macy interviewed eventually overdosed or died from the violence, disease, and poverty that are bedfellows of heroin addiction. I must also point out that Macy does well to remind us that President Trump has done little to solve the crisis, although he bragged during the 2016 election that he would win in states that had become "drug dens." Asked at a public forum how we can collectively ensure that our upcoming generation of adolescents do not become addicts, Trump cooly remarked that we "Sit them down and tell them, not good! No good!" Sigh
Also - even though Quinones' Dreamland has some significant organization flaws, I would direct readers to that book first before reading Dopesick.
Very insightful and eye-opening book.
