America's Opioid Epidemic
Angela Hsieh/NPR
A record number of Americans have died from opioid overdoses in recent years. But how did we get here? And is this the first time Americans have faced this crisis? The short answer: no. Three stories of opioids that have plagued Americans for more than 150 years.
If you would like to read more on the topic, here's a list:
- Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy
- Dark Paradise: A History of Opiate Addiction in America by David T. Courtwright
- The Empire Built on Pain (The New Yorker) by Patrick Radden Keefe
- Drug Dealer, MD by Anna Lembke
- The Narcotic Farm: The Rise and Fall of America's First Prison for Drug Addicts by Nancy D. Campbell, Luke Walden, J.P. Olsen
- Happy Pills in America: From Miltown to Prozac by David Herzberg
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