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Remind us how it is that prescription opioids were introduced and became so widely abused back in the '90s.īETH MACY: Yeah. We've had, you know, a lot of political division and controversial stuff involving the former president. You know, a lot's happened in the last few years. Beth, I thought we'd begin with you to remind us of kind of where this opioid crisis came from. Well, Beth Macy, Michelle Mathis, welcome to FRESH AIR. That book is called 'Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, And The Future Of America's Overdose Crisis.' She's also an important character in Macy's new book, which also chronicles ongoing lawsuits and protests targeting the owners of Purdue Pharma. And she's the advisory board chair of the National Faith in Harm Reduction Movement. She serves on the board of several statewide organizations, including the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition. She's also program coordinator for the Gaston County, N.C., Opioid Overdose Response Team. Reverend Michelle Mathis is co-founder of Olive Branch Ministry, which now provides services to people in nine counties in North Carolina.

Macy's new book highlights the work of citizens who have made it their business to help those struggling with addiction, sometimes working with small nonprofits or churches, sometimes driving their own cars to drug houses or makeshift encampments to offer clean needles, hepatitis testing and treatment, medications that ease withdrawal symptoms, and plenty of empathy and understanding.Īlso with us today is one of those activists who's had a meaningful impact. Macy returns to the subject in a new book, noting that given the scale of the opioid epidemic, the nation is sorely lacking in effective treatment programs, often due to the indifference of state and local officials or their hostility to treating people they regard as parasites or criminals.

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Her last book, 'Dopesick,' which was adapted into an eight-part series on Hulu, detailed the dimensions and impact of the opioid crisis, particularly on rural communities.

Our guest, journalist Beth Macy, writes that addiction has become the No. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than a million Americans have died from drug overdose since 1996. I'm Dave Davies, in today for Terry Gross.

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