April 25, 2025

Chasing the Dragon: The Life of An Opiate Addict

The FBI and DEA released this documentary in an effort to combat the growing epidemic of prescription opiate and heroin abuse with the hope that it will help educate students and young adults about the dangers of addiction. You’ll hear in-depth stories from several people, some who are in recovery from an opioid addiction and others who have lost a loved one to it. This documentary focuses heavily on the harsh realities behind not only addiction itself, but specifically with the transition from prescription medications to heroin.
April 24, 2025

Painkiller: Inside the Opioid Crisis in Canada

Nominated for Canadian Screen Award, this documentary covers the opioid crisis in Canada. “It features interviews with families who have lost loved ones, as well as healthcare workers and policy experts who question a health system that favors corporate profits over patients.” For example, they talk about the overprescribing of prescription medications, and how little to no punishments have been handed out. This documentary also advocates for harm reduction as a crucial way to combat this crisis.
April 24, 2025

Bryan’s HOPE: The Heroin Epidemic – Prevention & Education

Bryan’s Hope was founded by Jeannie Richards after she lost her son, Bryan, to a heroin overdose. Richards was hopeful that she could raise enough awareness and money to begin purchasing naloxone kits to hand out to local addicts and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. “Bryan, I’d like to think, was just like any other boy growing up, active, happy, healthy,” she says. “It wasn’t until he starting taking prescription Vicodin that he morphed into somebody that I didn’t know” (source). Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and passed away a year later in 2019. As a result, it appears that Bryan’s Hope is no longer active.
April 24, 2025

HookedRx: From Prescription to Addiction in Arizona

This documentary covers the opioid crisis in Arizona. You’ll hear from frontline workers, policymakers, and counsellors, as well as parents who have lost a child and those who made it to recovery. This video focuses on the route that people take to becoming addicted, starting from being prescribed a prescription medication to suffering from a full-blown addiction. It also discusses the ease at which people are able to obtain the pills, as well as some stories about medical professionals who abused their prescribing powers.
April 24, 2025

Hope After Heroin: The Epidemic in Our Backyard

This WQED documentary explores the opioid crisis & heroin use in Western Pennsylvania. People who have experienced addiction, either themselves or through a loved one, share their stories of struggle, stigma and loss. But they also show how they’ve managed to use their pain as a catalyst for change, providing hope for others. Heroin has a hold on this country, and Western Pennsylvania hasn’t escaped its grip. There isn’t a community, a town, a county in our region that doesn’t have a major heroin problem today. It’s cross-generational, it crosses ethnic lines. The problem is so pervasive that people are literally overdosing on the street. Stigma keeps people from talking about it. But now, people are stepping out of the shadows. Sharing their stories, inspiring others. Recovery is something that anyone can do at any point.
April 24, 2025

Kids Are Dying: Addiction in Youth

This documentary is a must-see for anyone wanting to learn more about addiction and youth drug use and how the overdose epidemic / opioid crisis is affecting children and young adults.  You can also watch Michael’s second documentary – An American Epidemic – where he details how this problem is not only happening locally in Camden, but also nationally.
April 24, 2025

The Opioid Crisis: An American Epidemic

After making his first documentary – Kids are Dying – Michael DeLeon, who runs Steered Straight, travelled throughout the U.S. to nearly 40 states to talk to people about the opioid crisis. He speaks with parents who have lost a child, professionals in the field, addicts in recovery, as well as celebrities to create this eye-opening film. It seems that everyone shares one common belief: the opioid crisis is an epidemic that has gone on for far too long.
April 24, 2025

The Opioid Epidemic: Stephen’s Story

This documentary was created by the family members of Stephen, who overdosed on July 9th, 2018. After experiencing a traumatic event, Stephen began to struggle immensely with substance abuse, particularily with heroin, an opioid, and ultimately lost his life. His family discusses not only Stephen’s battle with mental health and addiction, but also the family’s history as well. From the impact of trauma, dual diagnosis / comorbidity, to family history, you’ll get to hear from Stephen’s family members on the impact he had on their lives and how an opioid overdose had fatal consequences.
April 24, 2025

New York City’s Opioid Drug History: A Relentless Cycle

Using an opioid for a pain relief drug has a long history in New York City, where they were introduced as unregulated medicine: doctors began prescribing morphine pills to housewives in the 1880s. Journalist Christopher Booker uncovers New York’s history with opioids – from plant-based morphine, opium and heroin to lab-produced drugs like fentanyl – in a half-hour film about drug addiction, medical treatment, and drug criminalization over the course of decades. [Taken from YT description]