In the past two decades, the United States has been facing an escalation in abuse of opioids, primarily heroin. According to Congressional Research Service, in 2016, approximately 0.4% of the U.S. population older than 12 years old reported having used heroin in the past year (2). Besides, the majority of them admitted the use of heroin in the previous decade (Heroin Trafficking 2). The issue requires taking action, but before that, it needs to be discussed. One of the most important and famous pieces on this topic today is a book named Dreamland.
Dreamland is a non-fiction book written by an American journalist Sam Quinones and published in 2015. Quinones spent many years exploring and investigating Mexican culture from the inside, which made a significant contribution to the piece (Leonard 1). In the book, he takes a close look at the three distinct factors that, coming together, gave rise to an opioid epidemic in the United States.
Initially, the opioid crisis was built on drugs that were being prescribed by medical care professionals, as wells as misunderstanding and underestimation of their effect. Scientists and doctors have always been aware of the addiction risks opioids cause, but they have not always been responsible with them. According to Quinones, in the 1980s, a new approach to medical care and pain treatment started developing (110).
The idea was that “that pain counteracted opiates’ euphoric effect and thus reduced the risk of addiction” (Quinones 110). This meant that eventually the drugs were prescribed more and more easily, in large amounts, with little to no control over their usage. In the 1990s, this crusade took over – people started thinking that America was undertreating pain (Quinones 111). The medical care professionals were urged to treat pain as the most routine thing, as another vital sign of a human’s body. It was believed that opioids could not cause addiction if used correctly.
It became a new business model, and massive brainwashing – the liberalization of painkiller drugs was promoted and highly supported. One after one, people were surrendering to it, and the brand-new addicts were lining up at doctors’ offices. New clinics kept opening up, benefitting from the opioid boom. Companies were creating new devices for drug use – “the drug company Baxter and others produced intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps, allowing patients to administer their own painkiller with the push of a button.” (Quinones 112). Instead of treating people, everything and everyone seemed to be encouraging painkiller abuse.
The most popular painkiller drug was OxyContin, or simply Oxy, but after developing tolerance toward it, people switched to black tar heroin. It was cheaper than painkillers, could be smoked instead of being injected, so the transition from prescription drugs to heroin was “a natural and easy one” (Quinones 187). Every person addicted to Oxy had a strong potential to become addicted to heroin, which is precisely what was exploited by the Mexican dealers. They saw the growing need for a drug that would be more affordable and easier to consume and did not fail to act on it. The system that the Mexican created was refreshing and effective. They took care of their customers – offering a test bite beforehand and providing delivery within half an hour, all of it keeping their prices low.
At the time, a great number of people in rural America lived in dissatisfaction and despair. No wonder they would turn their hearts to drugs – doctors were very generous with prescribing opioids, and afterward, the cheaper and stronger heroin looked very enticing. Nevertheless, heroin was not a product for the poor and marginalized only, as people of every class and every field of work were exposed to it.
In the Mexican system, the primary instruction for drug dealers was to sell in white neighborhoods. These white kids, often coming from the wealthy suburbs, were looking for something to fulfill their hunger for adventures. Heroin became mainstream, with musicians and artists making it out to be sexy, edgy, and appealing. All of this made teenagers drawn to opioids and heroin in particular. The Mexicans played to their privilege as well, delivering everything to their neighborhoods, making the consumption easy and plausible. “In a culture that demanded comfort … heroin was the final convenience.” (Quinones 254). This tactic made their business flourish, profiting off wealthy white Americans.
Middle-class Americans were indeed a goldmine. The economy was on a rise; they could afford to buy drugs regularly; at the same time remaining high-functioning members of society, most of them could even show up to the work high (Quinones 142). The drug dealers watched the neighborhood, especially at fair or parties – pinpointing those who were spending a lot. Part of their success came from studying their audience and clientele up close.
Eventually, mostly in the early 2010s, the society started to understand the nature and patterns of addiction. The myths regarding it started getting destroyed one by one. It was not portrayed as an “evil” or “dirty” thing anymore – but an illness. It was officially confirmed that “once people get addicted, they really lose the power of choice.” (Quinones 353). Instead of being sent to jail for using drugs, people started being put into treatment. Rehabilitation centers began opening up, where non-violent and non-criminal addicts could get back on their feet.
Nowadays, there is a much more careful attitude toward prescription drugs in the U.S., as well as there is broader knowledge about the distribution of illicit narcotics around the country. Since 2016, there is a National Drug control strategy functioning in the U.S., which is meant to reduce illegal drug consumption (Heroin Trafficking 12). It includes preventing drug use in the U.S. communities, increasing access to treatment and supporting recovery, as well as disrupting domestic drug trafficking (Heroin Trafficking 12). Although the heroin epidemic is not at all gone yet, the U.S. is taking consecutive steps for its alleviation. Thanks to this, there is hope that the heroin crisis in the U.S. will be stopped relatively soon.
References
“Heroin Trafficking in the United States.” Congressional Research Service, 2019, pp. 1-19.
Leonard, Elizabeth. “How Dreamland Colored My Summer Vacation and Thinking about the Opioid Epidemic.” JOTWELL, 2018. Web.
Quinones, Sam. Dreamland: the true tale of America’s opiate epidemic. Bloomsbury Press, 2016.