Hacker Cinema
Chasing Heroin
2016 · Film · documentary · 113 min
Directed by Marcela Gaviria
America’s heroin and opioid crisis has been called the worst drug epidemic in U.S. history. FRONTLINE goes inside the crisis and places it in a fresh and provocative light — telling individual stories of addiction, but also investigating how the heroin epidemic as we know it came to be.
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6 comments on Hacker News
I've personally seen tons of stories about the Opioid epidemic on PBS especially on News Hour and including an entire episode of Frontline called "Chasing Heroin". As far as abuse of women in Nigeria, I don't recall hearing about that at all, I'll have to look it up.
I personally turn to PBS coverage because I find it far more balanced than something like CNN, CNBC or Fox News. I have noticed that it was pointed out that they have primarily female anchors, and it's certainly different, but I can't say I have a problem with it. I also like the fact that they don't seem to use commentators and "expert" consultants as often, but rather the Government representatives or organizations actually involved.
Heroin clinics can be very helpful for that. By providing the heroin and requiring that it be used on site they take it out of the community. Nobody sees their friends using and gets offered a bit to try. Starting drug use is often a very social phenomenon, generally people are introduced to them by friends.
From a study on the Swiss clinics [0]
>*New Use Rates: Slightly lower than expected. 1) As reported in the Lancet June 3, 2006, the medicalisation of using heroin has tarnished the image of heroin and made it unattractive to young people. 2) Most new users are introduced to heroin by members of their social group and 50% of users also deal to support their habit. Therefore, with so many users/sellers in treatment, non-users have fewer opportunities to be exposed to heroin, especially in the rural areas.
This is only helpful for people starting from heroin though, the problem of people getting addicted to opioids from taking pharmaceutical drugs [1] is an entirely different matter to address.
[0] http://www.citizensopposingprohibition.org/resources/swiss-heroin-assisted-treatment-1994-2009-summary/
[1] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/chasing-heroin/
Often companies find that people don't "need" their products. When this happens they turn to advertising and sales people to correct the problem.
https://theweek.com/articles/541564/how-american-opiate-epidemic-started-by-pharmaceutical-company
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/chasing-heroin/
For a street-level perspective, I recommend the documentary "Oxyana" [1] about pill abuse in Oceana, WV
And for a more in-depth look at the origins check out Frontline's "Chasing Heroin" [2]
[1] https://youtu.be/jrE1uxGd6OQ
[2] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/announcement/chasing-heroin-a-two-hour-special-premieres-feb-23-on-frontline/
According to a recent Frontline, maybe we are moving on:
"A searing, two-hour investigation places America’s heroin crisis in a fresh and provocative light -- telling the stories of individual addicts, but also illuminating the epidemic's years-in-the-making social context, deeply examining shifts in U.S. drug policy, and exploring what happens when addiction is treated like a public health issue, not a crime." http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/chasing-heroin/
Relevant: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/chasing-heroin/