Money and exploitation
This book shows how two forms of business came together to exploit the public of its money through addiction. The first is a legal operation, the second a network of underground criminal operations. Purdue Pharma was allowed to set the tone for the release of their drug OxyContin, urging doctors to try it as a miracle drug which would alleviate even the most painful ailments. That is because it is an opiate, so the effect is very similar to heroin. That brings us to the second half of the imagery; with new addicts to opiates, heroin cartels were able to rise to new heights, given their income from new addicts and the recent improvements in their drug-producing efficiency.
Pain and pleasure
The imagery of pain and pleasure shows the bedrock of addiction. The suffering of one's body can become so severe that serious means are considered. Then again, even mild pains were being prescribed opiates back in the 1990's, so that a whole spectrum of suffering was treated with access to narcotics which, if used in excess (and even if used as prescribed!) would very often lead to experiences of bodily pleasure that was so much better than the user anticipated that they would become instantly addicted to the experience and repeat it. Then, when their prescriptions ran out, they would begin taking heroin or buying pills illegally, in many cases.
The shape of addiction
The imagery of a doctor's office is the beginning of this imagery. A patient with a painful ailment comes to a doctor for medical advice. The doctor prescribes a new drug, OxyContin, an opiate pain-killer. This works for the pain, but in many cases, the user would become dependent on the drug to alleviate their pain. Then again, serious pain often led users to take the drug in excess which led to extreme euphoria followed by extreme dependence. This is the imagery that describes the shape of addiction in the opiate epidemic in the 1990's.
Shame and misinformation
Another reason for the widespread disaster that is the opiate crisis (the crisis is still alive and well, of course) is the imagery that colors addiction in a shameful light. Because of misinformation about the effects of drugs, many people are led to addictive legal medicines, instead of non-addictive alternatives (because Big Pharma is interested in capitalistic growth and profit). This exploitation is redoubled by a shameful narrative about addictions. Many people believe that addicts lack character or something, when in reality, opiates could quickly make an addict of even the most sincere, honest, hard-working person. The vast majority of heroin addicts were started with prescriptions.
