Essentia Health to host free webinar featuring ‘Dopesick’ author 

For the second time in three months, Essentia Health will host a virtual webinar about America’s opioid crisis featuring acclaimed journalist and author Beth Macy. 

The free webinar — titled “Dopesick: America’s Opioid Epidemic” — will take place from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, March 18. Following her presentation, Macy will take questions from attendees. It will focus on America’s decades-long battle with opioid addiction, how it started, how it spread, how to help those impacted and what can be done to end the epidemic. 

Macy gave a similar presentation in mid-December, which also was hosted by Essentia. 

Macy’s work includes the book “Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America,” a New York Times best-seller that was adapted into a highly regarded Hulu series starring Michael Keaton. 

The webinar is funded by a Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant, totaling $200,000, 100% funded by the HRSA/HHS. The contents are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, the HRSA, HHS or the U.S. government. 

In addition to Macy’s presentation, the grant will help create a plan to implement prevention, treatment and recovery programming over the next three years.