Opium

"A landmark project." — Dr. Andrew Weil

"Engrossing and highly readable." — Sam Quinones

"An astonishing journey through time and space." — Julie Holland, MD

"The most important, provocative, and challenging book I've read in a long time." — Laurence Bergreen

From a psychiatrist on the frontlines of addiction medicine and an expert on the history of drug use, comes the"authoritative, engaging, and accessible" (Booklist) history of the flower that helped to build — and now threatens — modern society.

Opioid addiction is fast becoming the most deadly crisis in American history. In 2017, it claimed nearly fifty thousand lives — more than gunshots and car crashes combined, and almost as many Americans as were killed in the entire Vietnam War. But even as the overdose crisis ravages our nation —...