We’re Overdosed: From Opium to Opioids Reveals the Hidden Roots of Addiction

Barry I. Gold connects the global opium trade to modern pharmaceutical dependency and calls for systemic control.

CENTENNIAL, CO, UNITED STATES, October 18, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- We’re Overdosed: From Opium to Opioids by Barry I. Gold (Sweetspire Literature Management / Central Park South Publishing, ISBN 978-1964035772), published on July 7, 2025, is a thought-provoking expansion of Gold’s investigation into the opioid epidemic. This sequel aims to expose the historical lineage of opiate use—how opium’s global spread evolved into today’s synthetic opioid crisis—and to provoke legislative, ethical, and health-policy responses.
With rigor and insight, Gold frames addiction not as a modern aberration but as the outcome of centuries of trade, science, and policy.

In We’re Overdosed: From Opium to Opioids, Barry I. Gold journeys through history to trace how opium evolved from the plant-based painkiller of antiquity into today’s powerful, addictive pharmaceuticals. The narrative traces the origin of morphine from opium, the chemical evolution into synthetic opioids, and the rise of the global pharmaceutical industry.
Gold considers prescription regulation, illicit drug trade, and what federal legislation could do to curb misuse. While the epidemic’s toll is tragic—especially from illicit sources—he doesn’t leave readers in despair. He also explores emerging treatments offering hope in addiction recovery and urges how the U.S. might lead in fighting illicit drug trade globally.
Blending historical scholarship with contemporary urgency, this volume deepens the public’s understanding of addiction’s roots and builds the foundation for more informed, humane policymaking.

About the Author
Barry I. Gold holds a BS in Zoology from the University of Cincinnati and a PhD in Pharmacology from Boston University, with postdoctoral experience at Yale and faculty service at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). His professional and academic background frames his investigative writing with scientific authority.
A devoted writer, Gold has published across multiple genres, from essays to fiction, but now focuses on socially engaged nonfiction. He resides in Putnam County, New York, with his family. We’re Overdosed: From Opium to Opioids builds on his ongoing mission to illuminate the human and systemic dimensions of addiction and to drive reform through knowledge.

Barry I. Gold
West Harmony Productions
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