Background information

In this section, you can read some background information that may be useful when working with Beth Macy’s article “‘I Am Going to Die if I Keep Living the Way I Am.’ She Was Right.” If you do not need further information on the listed topics, feel free to skip straight to the Analysis-section. 

The opioid crisis

The opioid crisis is the common term for the huge rise in opioid addiction in the US, starting slowly around the late 1990s and becoming more serious in the years 2015-2018.

Opioids are a type of chemicals that can be used both to reduce feelings of pain and to cause feelings of euphoria. Opioids are used in powerful painkillers such as morphine, but also in street drugs such as heroin. Because most opioids are highly addictive, their use is often subject to strict laws.

One of the main causes of the opioid crisis is believed to be over-prescription of painkillers that contain opioids. Many patients who receive such painkillers for long periods of time develop a...