Community Involvement
Dreamland in Portsmouth, Ohio is where Quinones finds hope for the country's deliverance from opiate addiction. In the 1990s the culture experienced a 180 degree shift. At the beginning of the decade people fell into despair and fear of one another because of increasing crime rates nationally and the widespread increase of drug addiction. Not only were people doing hardcore drugs, but everyone was doing it, even the sweet young mom next door (especially her). Recognizing the national crisis, individuals and communities began rallying to uphold higher standards for one another and helping people instead of spreading fear. This movement was characterized by the Dreamland Community Center in Portsmouth where Quinones found a community full of people really helping one another. Formerly in the grip of the opiate addiction, Portsmouth's citizens had renewed their city by coming together.
This idea of community involvement is reflected also in the county of Xalisco where its residents decided to improver their economic situation and free themselves of threats from the cartels by starting their own illegal drug trade. Because everyone in the community came together, they were able to design an enormously successful business. Their cooperation and dedication to the cause led to extreme wealth, until the government finally caught up to them.
Exploitation for Profit
Quinones hones in on the real cause of the opiate crisis at the beginning of the book. He conducts extensive research into the various drug companies responsible and their rise to power. Corrupt upper officials from these corporations had made deals with hospitals nationally to promote (prescribe) their products. This alone violates the purpose of these hospitals because the overprescription of drugs when unnecessary can compromise public health. Unfortunately the trouble doesn't end there. Big pharma then began producing stronger, and stronger opiates because they recognized the highly addictive potential of these drugs. After all, if someone's is addicted to their drug, the companies will profit. They got what they were after, and America became addicted to prescription drugs. Not only were these companies responsible for endangering the health of their consumers but they were responsible for many deaths from overdose as well, but by the time the government or the public caught on they had accrued enough wealth to buy their way out of trouble.
Similarly the community in Xalisco takes advantage of the American public to profit off their drug sales. Recognizing the American consumer impulse and the rise of pharmaceutical drugs in their sister nation, these impoverished people decide to capitalize upon their situation. They band together to profit from the opiate addiction across the border. They are responsible for exploitation as much as the drug companies.
