26 Sep 2018

Opioid crisis devastating small town America

From Nine To Noon, 10:06 am on 26 September 2018

The opioid crisis is having a devastating effect on small town America, with drug addiction way above the national average. Over prescribing of painkillers by doctors in depressed towns, wooed by big pharma is seen as sparking two decades of drug dependency, taking lives and causing heartache to families. As a journalist for the Roanoke Times in Virginia, Beth Macy was able to tell many stories of grieving families, speaking to addicts, their parents, the police and underworld figures. Her new book, Dopesick, catalogues a perfect storm of dealers, doctors and drug companies who have all had a role the opioid epidemic.