Taking the pulse of a dopesick nation - abc listen

feature-image

Play all audios:

Loading...

Beth Macy has been drawing out people's life stories since she was a young girl. Her first job was delivering the local paper, then she became a journalist for _The Roanoke Times_ in


Virginia.  For the past several decades, Beth has watched the grip of the American opioid crisis tighten on people from every social strata. What began with the over-prescription of


painkillers grew into a full-blown addiction epidemic that took 72 000 lives in 2017. Beth spoke with with addicts and their families, health professionals and the grieving in three south


west Virginian communities. She's also investigated the legislative and commercial forces at play while following the money trail behind the crisis. FURTHER INFORMATION _First broadcast


April 2019_ _Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America_ is published by HarperCollins