'The Real Story Behind The Opioid Epidemic': Expert Author Visits Worcester

WORCESTER, MA — Dig to the heart of the matter, the heart of the problem.

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. is welcoming award-winning author Sam Quinones to Worcester to talk about the "real story behind the current opioid epidemic ravaging our region and the country."

On Monday, April 10, Quinones attend several events in Worcester County. He and Early cap the day with a discussion at Worcester Technical High School, One Skyline Drive, Worcester. The event, which is free and open to the public, includes a question and answer period. The discussion begins at 6 p.m. in the school auditorium.

Quinones, a veteran reporter who formerly worked for The LA Times, authored “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic,” which was selected by Amazon as a Best Book of 2015.

“Dreamland” tells the story of the rise of the opioid epidemic. According to the announcement, the book details how a big pharmaceutical company marketed pain pills, leading to the widespread overprescribing of opioids, despite knowing the pill’s highly addictive nature. It talks about the crews who came up from a small town in Mexico to sell heroin in a whole new way – delivering it like pizza and bringing it out of major cities and into the suburbs.

“Dreamland” outlines the opioid epidemic not just in the country as a whole, but also in small town America, too. In 2015, there were 1,377 opioid deaths in Massachusetts with 219 of them in Worcester County. That number is expected to rise in 2016. This book can help people understand how this problem arose and what can be done to help bring it under control, said Early in a statement.

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