Drugs Quote by Don Winslow
““the Times says there's a heroin epidemic, Malone thinks, which is only an epidemic of course because now white people are dying. Whites started to get opium-based pills from their physicians: oxycodone, vicodin... But, it was expensive and doctors were reluctant to prescribe too much for exactly the fear of addiction. So the white folks went to the open market and the pills became a street drug. It was all very nice and civilized until the Sinoloa cartel down in Mexico made a corporate decision that it could undersell the big American pharmaceutical companies by raising production of its heroin thereby reducing price. As an incentive, they also increased its potency. The addicted white Americans found that Mexican ... heroin was cheaper and stronger than the pills, and started shooting it into their veins and overdosing. Malone literally saw it happening. He and his team busted more bridge-and-tunnel junkies, suburban housewives and upper Eastside madonnas than they could count…””
About This Quote
Source Novel: “The Power of the Dog” by Don Winslow, 2005
The opioid crisis escalated when prescription drugs became scarce, leading users to cheaper, stronger heroin from Mexican cartels, intensifying addiction and overdose deaths among white Americans.
In simple terms: Prescription limits pushed users to heroin, worsening the epidemic.
Address prescription abuse and improve treatment access.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- urban communities
- suburban households
- healthcare settings
- law enforcement interventions
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can policy balance pain management with addiction risk?
- What role should pharmaceutical companies play in prevention?
The quote focuses on white Americans, overlooking broader demographic impacts and systemic factors.