I would argue that this is essentially two books, not one. It's not that it's written that way. It's just that there is a significant portion that is quite clear and concise and important information for the average reader to know about the ins and outs of what America is dealing with regarding its current and significant drug-related morass. (What I will label the "Walmart Drug Ecosystem" was especially intriguing to me.) There is a great deal included in this book, with convincing evidence, that the typical mass media is not passing along to the public in any meaningful way. It was just yesterday that I read a news story in a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper that mentioned certain "truths" about current community drug issues that were known to this book's author -- and, of course, to anyone who would have read this book -- at least as far back as late 2021 when this book was first published. So, not new news. Old news that the media is just now reporting? And then there is the rest of the book, which is basically all coming from the author's personal interviews with several specific people at a handful of locations in America, locations that the author clearly has taken as a clear representative sampling of all drug-related issues. There is no effort to verify that what he has been told by individuals in these locations is universally true everywhere else. (Though, I will grant that they touch on likely issues in a lot of communities.) Indeed, especially at the end of the book, the author hands out what he regards as solutions that are not tested elsewhere or even clearly successful. I got the distinct impression I was being subjected to a classic Frank Capra movie. "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" immediately came to mind. I would think that even Mr. Capra, if he were alive, would agree that those movies may be inspirations for community change but would never be foundations for legislation and policy decisions to tackle problems. In my opinion, that uplifting thinking is in contrast to the hard realities presented elsewhere in the book. A point which reminds me that the author effectively never mentions the massive political barriers to acting on the "enlightenment" he seems so fond of pointing out from the individuals he interviewed. I am rating this book as highly as I am because of what is mostly reported in the first part of the book. Unfortunately, most readers, people who much prefer fiction over non-fiction, will not bother to read this book unless the "human interest" part of the book is there. They might even skim over the part I think is so important, and I don't think that will help find solutions, just empathy. ( )

Sadly 5 stars is the most you can give a book.
The author of Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic which came out in 2015 was one of the best books I have ever read.
This new book The Least Of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth.
If you wonder how we got where we are today, if you or someone you know, has an addiction or wants to know more about how addiction affects the brain, or if you have children this needs to be required reading.
Even something as simple as America’s addiction to sugar and how the brain way as if does to narcotics and why is fascinating.
And for people my age make no mistake today’s drugs are so much more potent and dangerous than what was available in the 70’s and 80’s, anything can easily lead to something far more dangerous.
Do yourself a favor and read this book! ( )

Nowhere near as effective as "Dreamland," perhaps because there is much less new information here. Also, Quinones's tales of hope are completely lost in the despair. Perhaps he has to talk about hope to sell the book, but it doesn't seem sincere. I did like that Quinones takes and defends a political stand on how to address the drug epidemic; he argues the downsides of legalization.

> Carfentanil was ten thousand times more potent than morphine. It had no valid use on humans, they believed, but they saw that it sedated elephants, rhinoceroses, and other large mammals. In the United States, later, carfentanil was made legal only for zoo veterinarians to possess. (UK scientists concluded that in 2002 the Russian government used carfentanil to attack Chechen rebels who had taken over a Moscow theater, dispersing it through the building’s air duct. At least 170 people died, including 121 hostages. The UK scientists based their conclusions on tests of items of clothing and blood belonging to British citizens who were near an exit and thus among the hostages revived by a Russian assault team that day

> OxyContin, flogged by Purdue sales reps, did a lot to create our new wide market for heroin, which never existed when the opioids on the street were Vicodin, Percocet, and others. Those pills were mixed with acetaminophen as an abuse deterrent. Those who abused them did enormous damage to their internal organs, so their habits remained minor. They rarely grew desperate enough to make the leap to heroin

> alcohol and cigarettes kill more than any other drug by far, because they are legal and widely available. Alcohol also drives arrests and incarceration more than any other single drug. Our brains are no match for the consumer and marketing culture to emerge in the last few decades. They are certainly no match for the highly potent illegal street drugs now circulating.

> Decriminalizing drugs also removes the one lever we have to push men and women toward sobriety. Waiting around for them to decide to opt for treatment is the opposite of compassion when the drugs on the street are as cheap, prevalent, and deadly as they are today.

> Thanks also to Freedom.to, the software that allows me to shut down social-media apps and as much of the internet as I need to and focus. ( )