Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Review Macy’s descriptions of the communities where the opioid epidemic unfolded. What about those communities made them vulnerable to opioid abuse?

Macy includes substantial discussion of the government agencies that shape the regulatory environment and healthcare. What role did the government play in creating the epidemic? Do you believe the fixes Macy describes will address the problems within government agencies?

Select one of the anecdotes Macy includes in the book. Analyze how that anecdote helps support Macy’s argument in the chapter or the book as a whole.

Consider Macy’s representation of people who use drugs and people who sell drugs. How do these representations intervene in stereotypes around these figures?

Compare and contrast the role of economics in the opioid epidemic in rural and suburban America.

Consider Macy’s interview with Jones and use it to frame an analysis of Macy’s treatment of race and its role in the opioid epidemic in Dopesick.

Macy closes the work with an Epilogue on the death of Tess Henry. Imagine that Henry ended the book with Chapter 13 instead of the Epilogue on the death of Tess Henry. What impact would that have had on the tone of the work and your response to it? How does the Epilogue shape your perspective on the work as a whole, and why do you think Macy chose to add the Epilogue?

Review the Purdue Pharma website at https://www.purduepharma.com/. Analyze the visual rhetoric—the combination of elements such as images, text, and layout—of the site. What message is the company sending about its values? How do those values compare to those Macy ascribes to the company in the book?