The Opioid Crisis examines the reasons behind the opioid epidemic in the United States and its far-reaching effect on people's everyday lives. The brain science behind opioid addiction is also explored, and the book encourages readers to form their own opinions. Features include a glossary, references, websites, source notes, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Essential Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing,...

Beginning with a single dealer who lands in a small Virginia town and sets about turning high school football stars into heroin overdose statistics, journalist Beth Macy endeavors to answer a grieving mother's question -- why her only son died -- and comes away with a harrowing story of greed and need. From the introduction of OxyContin in 1996, Macy parses how America embraced a medical culture where overtreatment with painkillers became the norm....

Prescription drug use in America has increased tenfold in the past fifty years, and over-the counter drug use has risen just as dramatically. Modern drugs can be miraculously life saving, and many illnesses require their use. But what happens when our reliance on powerful pharmaceuticals blinds us to their risks? Weil alerts readers to the problem of overmedication and outlines when medicine is necessary and when it is not. He provides reliable integrative-medicine...

"Emma loves her life. She's the mother of a precocious kindergartener, married to her soulmate--a loyal and loving police detective--and has a rewarding career as a doctor at the local hospital. But everything comes crashing down when her son, Josh, is diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Determined to save him, Emma makes the risky decision to sell opioids to fund the lifesaving treatment he needs. But when somebody ends up dead, a lethal game of...