Summary & Analysis: DOPESICK By Beth Macy : Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America

by Black Book

Dopesick : Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America by Beth Macy is a journalistic, nonfiction work on the heroin epidemic that overtook Virginia in the 2000s through today. Through hours of research and scores of interviews, Macy explains the history of the epidemic from the time OxyContin arrived on the scene until it became the worst drug epidemic in modern American history. Throughout the work, Macy introduces readers to scores of parents who have lost their children to death by overdose or whose children are serving jail time for drug-related offenses. Readers hear how their children succumbed to opioid abuse and how the families tried to get them the help they needed and often failed.

Additionally, Macy introduces readers to a number of medical professionals who speak against the dangers of overprescribing opioids and the problems with rehabilitation clinics. The author also shares the opinions of those working on the side of the law to bring an end to rampant drug abuse in their communities. The novel works to advocate for better addiction treatment, as well as healthcare and criminal justice reform.

46 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 22, 2019