Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic

Compare and contrast how the opiate epidemic changed the fates of Portsmouth, Ohio, and Xalisco, Nayarit. Use examples to support your argument.

In Part 1 Quinones describes how addiction among addicts and dealers fueled the Xalisco Boys’ rise. Discuss how the compulsion to consume created the Xalisco Boys network in the United States, citing examples on both sides.

Discuss how marketing products as reliable and standardized helped both the Xalisco Boys and Purdue Pharma create the opiate epidemic.

Describe how the Xalisco Boys’ approach to selling heroin differed from other dealers’ ways of selling the drug. Discuss how this led to the proliferation of black tar heroin across the United States.

How did the idea of pain as a vital sign contribute the opiate epidemic?

In Part 3 Quinones writes, “I couldn’t remember any dug scourge so ably abetted by silence” (289). Describe how a culture of silence amplified the opiate epidemic, citing examples.

Throughout the book Quinones describes how going north became a rite of passage for men from Xalisco, even as many always intended to return home. How did the movement of black tar heroin dealers across the border fuel the opiate epidemic? Why the Len Bias strategy change this?

Describe the three forms of dreamland laid out in the book, and explain what each reveals about the forces driving the opiate epidemic.