Rhetoric of the Opioid Epidemic argues that the opioid epidemic is a public health issue. By analyzing case studies from popular culture and governmental responses, Tiara Good demonstrates that the power of naming it an epidemic, rather than a drug or crime issue, reduces counterproductive stigma and assists in reshaping public perspectives.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Deaths of Despair and the Opioid Epidemic Now

Chapter 1 What is the Opioid Epidemic?: A Brief Summary

Chapter 2 Tattered social fabric and dashed expectations: Documenting the Epidemic through Documentary Films

Chapter 3 "Ben is Back:" Rhetoric of Mothers in the Opioid Epidemic

Chapter 4 Defining Trump's America through Crisis: Remarks on Combatting the Opioid Crisis

Chapter 5 Mapping the Epidemic: ODMAP and the boundaries of response

Chapter 6 A Brief Analysis and Sample of the Chronic Pain Management Debate in the United States

Conclusion: A Very American Epidemic: Rhetoric of the Opioid Epidemic