Filming the opioid epidemic: 5 must-see documentaries

Jan Rader, the fire chief in Huntington, West Virginia and one of the film’s main first-responders, touches on the subject of “compassion fatigue” which is common among first responders who revive the same individuals time and time again without those individuals getting the help they need. The Dark States trilogy peaked with an audience of 3.1 million viewers and a 12.2% share , making it one of BBC Two’s top ten titles for the year to date (1 January – 22 October 2017). The series averaged 2.7 million viewers and a 10.9% share, outperforming BBC Two’s slot and primetime average shares by 63% and 46% respectively.

The film displays how millions of people are incarcerated each year because of drug addiction and explores the U.S. federal government’s criminal approach to what experts claim is a health concern. The documentary also illustrates the good and bad things about the nation’s approach to addiction treatment. Some of the most inspiring stories about addiction recovery can be found in documentaries. Most documentaries are created to change or improve society or shed light on a particular issue or injustice. These fact-based films have the power to portray the harsh realities of subjects that are glamorized or covered up by the media in a way that can captivate the viewer and leave them wanting to change the world by the time the end credits roll.

“On average, 115 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.”

A significant rise in heroin overdose deaths marked the second wave in 2010. According to the CDC, “The third wave began in 2013, with significant increases in overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, particularly those involving illicitly manufactured fentanyl.” In one decade, from 1999–2019, close to 500,000 people died due to opioid overdoses. At the moral center of “Dopesick” is Dr. Samuel Finnix, a family practitioner in the fictional Appalachian town of Finch Creek, Va., played by Michael Keaton. Fentanyl is a potent and fast-acting drug, two qualities that also make it highly addictive. With fentanyl, there is only a short window of time to intervene and save a person’s life during an overdose. And one of his patients was a woman named Carol Bosley, who had suffered a terrible neck injury as a result of a car accident.

This hour-long documentary explores the chemistry of opioid drugs and their prevalence in Bay Bounty, Michigan, through the multifaceted lens of the word and the crisis. Over the 40-minute span of the documentary, the overdoses pile up — in the bathroom of a local pizza joint, Gino’s; up against a counter in Sheetz; behind a locked door in a home. As Rader and her fire department run from one scene to the next, you’re struck by the route mundanity, the well-oiled practice of their movements. Whatever the truth, Marson’s documentary highlights the vacuum of effective chronic pain management in the United States — a vacuum that can leave scores of patients in agonizing pain without a treatment for a problem they can often neither see nor prove to their doctors. It’s a well-crafted exposé of addiction in what some call the “crossroads of America,” and one of the few that focuses on the role that Mexican cartels and drug trafficking have had in exacerbating the epidemic. A record number of drug overdoses, an increase driven at least partially by synthetic opioid use.

Recovery

Their comments set the stage for the behind-the-scenes of the opioid epidemic as the documentary confronts, investigates, and exposes its horrors. MSNBC’s Jacob Soboroff investigates the role synthetics have played in the deadliest drug crisis in American history in this roughly 45-minute documentary, aired in 2017. One Nation, Overdosed profiles the rise of fentanyl, a potent synthetic heroin analog, in Dayton, Ohio, briefly touching on each of the major events that led to a recent rash of overdoses in the midwestern state.

There are millions of people in the nation who struggle with substance abuse every day, so many of which never get the help they need. If you or someone you care about is struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, our Massachusetts inpatient drug rehab can help. Three one-hour episodes exploring the causes of the opioid epidemic, its devastating effects and programs redefining eco sober house cost the treatment and recovery process. Ryan Hampton, a former campaign staffer for Bill Clinton and the author of the new book “Unsettled,” about the opioid crisis, agreed; he said the series could help Americans see that the drug abusers were not the problem. From powerful pharmaceuticals to illegally made synthetics, opioids are fueling a deadly drug crisis in America.

When government regulators or Justice Department officials tried to mitigate the wrongdoing, Purdue Pharma and companies like Cardinal-Health that were huge opioid distributors would settle the cases, keep the details private and continue on unabated. As tens of thousands of people succumbed to opioid addiction, the fortunes built by the opiate business became the crime of the century, and the market that OxyContin had opened paved the way for even deadlier prescription drugs. The opioid epidemic has been ravishing through the United State of America since the 1990’s and it has been worsening over the years. Opioid prescriptions have skyrocketed and approximately 80% of new heroin users became hooked after beginning to take opioid prescription pain medications for nonmedical reasons. Opioid prescriptions are being sold on the black market, stolen from doctors’ offices and even sold by doctors for a large fee.

It’s a crime, he says, that was committed by pharmaceutical companies, distributors, pharmacists and doctors, all looking to profit. When Rader is sworn in as chief of the department it’s hard not to feel emotional. And it’s hard not to let those emotions bubble up at the denouement of the film, when Rader’s final interview is interrupted by an overdose report. Jan Rader, deputy chief of the Huntington Fire Department, fights for funds to buy naloxone, an opioid antagonist that helps overdose victims start breathing again. Briskly maternal Necia Freeman is a local realtor who moonlights as founder of the Brown Bag Ministry, giving free food and advice to prostitutes on the streets of Huntington.

‘Dr. Feelgood’

Purdue has agreed to dissolve as a business and the Sackler family, which runs the company, has agreed to pay $4.5 billion in a bankruptcy settlement. Many who have struggled with opioid addiction, or who have lost a loved one due to OxyContin addiction, are angry that the Sacklers will likely remain one of the wealthiest families in the nation. From the film grew a worldwide effort to change drug laws that incarcerate people due to their addictions rather than help them find appropriate medical detox and treatment. Movies like this one represent the face of millions of families and individuals recovering from the impact of drug and alcohol addiction.

The Sackler family name greeted visitors in museums across the world at the height of the opioid crisis. Photographer Nan Goldin led the fight against their influence in the art world, and her campaign is the focus of the new documentary “All The Beauty And The Bloodshed.” Put yourself first this holiday season by getting mental health disorder treatment at Discovery Mood & Anxiety Program. Please note that some of these films may be graphic and depict violence, the use of drugs and alcohol, and drug paraphernalia.

From Mexican cartels to middle America, the show chronicles the struggle opioids have brought with them. “The Trade” was directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Matthew Heineman who also directed “Cartel Land,” which was nominated for an Academy Award and took home three Primetime Emmys. To shed light on this manufactured drug epidemic, Zinnia Health compiled a list of 10 documentary films and docuseries that explore the opioid epidemic. Opioid epidemic is the deadliest public health crisis America has ever faced. Opioids are now responsible for more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.

Painkiller

Viewers watch as they reconcile broken relationships and attempt to rebuild their lives. As one of the best documentaries about addiction recovery, Recovery Boys displays the struggles and triumphs of gaining sobriety. Gibney sheds light on the changes the medical community was asked to make to accommodate opioids, including how doctors should expand and rethink the meaning of breakthrough pain, and how pain was the fifth vital sign. The case of Dr. Lynn Webster is also discussed as is his role in the death of Carol Bosley, one of his patients who died of an opioid overdose.

With that in mind, Strong said he made “recovery and healing a major plotline in the last few episodes,” in hopes of destigmatizing treatment for opioid use disorder. For Macy, that meant emphasizing the effectiveness of medication-assisted treatment, in which addicts use a less dangerous opioid like methadone or Suboxone to regain their lives. When someone overdoses from fentanyl, breathing slows and their https://soberhome.net/ skin often turns a bluish hue. If you’re concerned that a loved one could be exposed to fentanyl, you may want to buy naloxone, a medicine that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose and is often available at local pharmacies without prescription. The film examines the life and career of Goldin and her efforts to hold Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler family, accountable for the opioid epidemic.

The story of a drug company that pushed opioids by bribing doctors and committing insurance fraud. 2.Part Two While pharmaceutical companies mass-market the synthetic opioid fentanyl, lawmakers continue to grease the opioid pipeline. NPR’s Sarah McCammon speaks with director Laura Poitras about her new documentary, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” a chronicle of photographer Nan Goldin’s activism in the opioid epidemic. Director Laura Poitras on her new documentary ‘All the Beauty and the Bloodshed’ NPR’s Sarah McCammon speaks with director Laura Poitras about her new documentary, “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” a chronicle of photographer Nan Goldin’s activism in the opioid epidemic.

These disorders are very complex, and this post does not take into account the unique circumstances for every individual. For specific questions about your health needs or that of a loved one, seek the help of a healthcare professional. Alyssa ValentinAlyssa is Banyan’s eco sober house ma Director of Digital Marketing & Technology. After overcoming her own struggles with addiction, she began working in the treatment field in 2012. She graduated from Palm Beach State College in 2016 with additional education in Salesforce University programs.

It’s not just a crisis destroying communities and plunging countless people into addiction, but is also a crime, says documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney. 2018 Opioid Task Force progress report found that American doctors are prescribing fewer opioids, as well as increasing prescription drug monitoring program use. But it’s unclear whether lower rates of prescribing translate to fewer drug deaths on the streets. Coming in just shy of 90 minutes, Dr. Feelgood is a rich portrayal of William Eliot Hurwitz. Depending on whom you ask, Hurwitz is either a caring and innovative physician who, over the course of his decades-long career, helped the chronic pain of hundreds of patients countrywide. It’s easy to forget how prevalent drug use is if you’ve never been personally impacted by it.

This portrayal of physician and pain management specialist Dr. William Hurwitz tells both sides of the story. Hurwitz presents himself as a caring and trusting doctor who helped his patients by dispensing pain-management drugs—and who was duped by those who sold the medications he prescribed on the black market. Audiences are also presented with evidence to the contrary, a five-year prison sentence for the good doctor and two trials for distribution of narcotics.

essential documentaries on the opioid crisis

A part of the Banyan team since 2016, Alyssa brings over 5 years of experience in the addiction treatment field. Rosario Dawson plays a D.E.A. agent who in the 1990s begins to notice a troubling pattern of addiction to prescription opioids in rural areas. The best way to prevent fentanyl use is to educate your loved ones, including teens, about it. Explain what fentanyl is and that it can be found in pills bought online or from friends. Aim to establish an ongoing dialogue in short spurts rather than one long, formal conversation. Prescription drugs sold online or by unlicensed dealersmarketed as OxyContin, Vicodin and Xanax are often laced with fentanyl.

• Opioids are now responsible for more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.
• If you or someone you care about is struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, our Massachusetts inpatient drug rehab can help.
• Schneider then realizes young people are coming to his pharmacy with prescriptions for high doses of the powerful opioid OxyContin.

And nowhere is that more evident than in the opioid crisis — where the incentive, whether you internalize it, whether you recognize it consciously or not, is to prescribe more and more and more because you’re making more money. But I think that what’s disconcerting is that people died of overdoses at Webster’s clinic. And so many people were dying that it caused the medical examiner to look into it and ultimately caused the DEA raid on the place.