Sam Quinones

Critically acclaimed journalist, author and storyteller Sam Quinones comes to GPS for the first time to update students and adults on a drug crisis that he says is killing thousands annually and to share his reasons for hope. “The unrelenting supply of two synthetic drugs, fentanyl and methamphetamine, has created a new reality and changed everything—drug smuggling, profit, use, addiction and treatment. Nothing remains the same.”

Quinones will share his research on the changing landscape of the opioid crisis in the last several years. He will discuss the appearance of fentanyl and how it replaced other forms of opiates like prescription pills and heroin. He will also touch on the use of Narcan, opioid lawsuits, and other related substance use and addiction topics.

Quinones is an in demand international speaker, former Los Angeles Times reporter and author of four acclaimed books including “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic” and several other titles including his most recent release, “The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth.” Quinones’ career as a journalist has spanned 35 years in Mexico and the United States working for the NY Times and as a freelancer covering immigration, drug trafficking, neighborhood stories, and gangs.