“I guess the best way to tell the story of how I glued myself to the wall of my house, of how such a thing could even happen, is to tell it chronologically. Otherwise, I might appear stupid. But if I walk you through it, tiny misstep by tiny misstep,   you will come to see that such a thing could happen to almost anybody, even a smart person. It began, as all great disasters do, with a plausible theory. It began with the simple thought, I can fix that.”

My Southern Journey, Rick Bragg

Doctors prescribed opioids in 20 percent of all patient visits with pain symptoms in 2010, nearly double that of 2000. Opioids became the most prescribed class of drugs, surpassing blood pressure, cholesterol, and anxiety medications. Americans, who represent less than 5 percent of the world’s population, were consuming 80 percent of the opioids supplied and 99 percent of the supply of hydrocodone, an opioid pain medication also commonly used as a cough suppressant.

San Fransicko: Why Progressive Policies Ruin Cities, Michael Shellenberger