Opioid and Heroin Taskforce Writing a Studyguide to the Book DREAMLAND by Sam Quinones

Sam Quinones' book, Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic is the best piece of investigative journalism that I have read in a long time. It brings together things most people would not have known had converged.

Sam jumps into the problem exploring the underpinning of society's growing success and middle-class euphoria. A bubble that could not last, a runaway train that came to a screeching halt. Depression and repression grew throughout the nation. Joblessness and despair spread. People needed answers.

The country fell pray to some candy sweet ad campaigns that lured us down the trail of making pain our fifth vital sign and hoodwinking physicians into pushing pills like they were pill-mills. We became addicted to prescription pills. We got into a denial of our own problem and a hunt for more and more and more.

At the same time, a very unique set of circumstances allowed for creative genius on behalf of a specific set of drug dealers from a specific place in Mexico. They were able to grow, produce, package and sell Black Tar Heroin cheaply with a sales model that deserves a write up in the Harvard Business Review. It cost next to nothing.

When these two worlds - of addiction to pain pills and the low cost movement of Black Tar Heroin - hit the scene in a hungry for change America, it was a disaster. We have a huge problem on our hands.

Sam's book is a must read. I was so impressed with it and the beauty of its simple retelling of a hugely complex and interwoven tale that I thought it needed a spotlight. Groups of people should read it together. I wanted to see if there was a study guide for the book that I could share with the many groups out there trying to stem the problem. Sam told me there was not. So, I started to write one.

The study guide is about 1/3 done. I post portions of it on the Facebook Page I started for the Heroin and Opioid Taskforce I am on in the Poconos. I am on the education sub-committee. Our goal is to finish the study guide and begin to share it around the Commonwealth with groups interested in studying Sam's book and working together to address the addiction in our State.

The study guide goes through each chapter and offers bullet points on the key issues discussed in that chapter. Then, it concludes each section with a series of questions meant to stimulate further conversation and understanding toward eradicating our dilemma.

Please check it out and other vital resources at our FB Page. Just scroll through it to find the sections of the study guide as well as video clips and articles related to this epidemic. CLICK HERE FOR THE FACEBOOK PAGE https://www.facebook.com/dream...