"The Age of Addiction" by David T. Courtwright

This book was written 5 years ago, and I'm puzzled why the public has not accepted its main argument yet: it's not the people who are to blame for their addictions but the system. To curb the addiction we need to curb the supply, there is no other way around it. No matter what we do to ease the number of deaths, we first need to address the core issue.

Drugs are widely available and affordable. Moreover, illicit drugs are widely available and affordable. Here in Vancouver (I've heard), one can get a dose of fentanyl for like $20. Of course, addicted people will stay addicted and try to fund their addiction with crime (as no other way allows for getting high on fentanyl three times a day) when the fix is so accessible both physically (from drug dealers next tent) and monetarily (with crime).

Maybe the general populous does not get it, but "dope-sick" isn't just a bad case of flu that you can brush off; it is all your pain receptors waking up and going into overdrive! Imagine that you feel unbearable pain unless you inject yourself with an opioid. Of course, almost anyone will become addicted in a very short time.

David, however, dives deep into two crucial topics: the history of how addiction was used as a tool to control people and enrich select individuals and the modern instances of such circumstances. He picks the fight with sugar, junk food, and alcohol — all the substances that are deemed socially acceptable yet rot humanity from the inside.

Even though I can't entirely agree with the author on a vast list of topics, I believe anyone still puzzled by addiction must read this book.