Book Review
Opium Eaters
By Carlyn Zwarenstein
North Americans are the world’s most
compulsive and prolific opioid abusers.
In a modern day twist of Thomas De Quincey’s
“Confessions of an English Opium Eater”, writer
Carlyn Zwarenstein recounts her search for relief
from her tragic degenerative autoimmune disease
“Ankylosing Spondylitis” a condition that is on the
rise, an inflammatory arthritis that strikes people in
the prime of their life, in her case 28 years old. This
condition causes excruciating spine pain. Her tragic
tale recounts her use of Tramadol with euphoric ups,
hallucinatory lows and desperate pharmacy visits as
her addiction sets in, all while balancing the demands
of being a working mother. She researches the history
of opioid use throughout history, pop culture and into
our current Opioid Crisis, which began in the 1990s
when Pharmaceutical companies heavily marketed so
many varieties of Opioid Painkillers, once restricted,
now encouraged for even the most minor injuries.
Unintentional deaths due to Opioid addiction and
overdose quadrupled within a single decade. 15
million people worldwide are currently dependent
on opiates. North Americans are the world’s most
compulsive and prolific opioid abusers. She speaks
towards the end of her hope for alternatives, cannabis
being the most promising. This book itself becomes an
addiction, I found it hard to put it down, it goes so fast
and then it leaves you wanting more!
WINTER 2017 || BEND HEALTH GUIDE || 21