April 24, 2025

The Opioid Crisis – It Impacts Us All

Opioids, including prescription painkillers, heroin, and fentanyl, kill someone in the United States every 11 minutes – and at least 5 people every day in Florida alone. The odds of dying by accidental opioid overdose are now greater than dying in a car crash. This is the story of how one community is challenging the statistics and fighting back against the opioid epidemic that is tearing through communities across the country. These are the victims, the heroes on the front lines, and the dedicated community partners doing everything they can to reduce and eliminate the devastating effects of opioids across Orange County, Florida.
April 24, 2025

Fentanyl: The Drug Deadlier than Heroin (VICE)

In 2015, close to 300 people died from fentanyl in Alberta. Many of these deaths were caused by bootlet, non-pharmaceutical pills. VICE presents an immersive and personal feature film about the fentanyl crisis in Canada, told from the perspective of a community of drug users. The struggles of one young man in this documentary is particularily important. He is an active drug user who continually attempts to seek support. In one scene, he goes to a publicly funded treatment center, expressing his urgent desire for help. However, he is told he cannot begin the program until he is sober for 5 days – he must find the ‘willpower’ to go through withdrawal, despite being homeless and alone. Later on in the video, he tries to find help again, but he is told the waitlist is going to be a few months. One of the last things he says is, “Honestly, if I can’t get clean at this point, I think I’ll just kill myself. I can’t do this any more.” His story is a very realistic depiction of how hard it is to receive help and is a testament to the fact that people struggling with addiction need support immediately, because many often shy away once told they must wait.
April 24, 2025

Kensington: Inside America’s Largest Open-Air Drug Market

Peter Santello creates “videos about a world the media fails to capture” (source). In this video, he travels to Kensington, Philadelphia to speak with a local man named Buddy Osborn, who reached out to him to tell him about “the horrific realities of open-air drug markets.” Buddy and his organization, The Rock, help “to get kids out of crime and drugs and into a healthier environment built upon confidence and clarity.”
April 24, 2025

A Second Shot: Drug Addiction in Afghanistan

Afghanistan has one of the world’s highest drug addiction rates. According to the Taliban, there are an estimated four million drug addicts across the country. Babrak, a former mujahideen fighter, used to be one of them. Now, he is committed to supporting addicts to detox in one of the capital’s under-resourced drug rehabilitation hospitals. Since the Taliban took power in 2021, international aid has been withdrawn and public services are on the brink of collapse. Babrak and a handful of medical staff struggle to offer a line of hope as the Taliban’s anti-drug policies are put into action.
April 24, 2025

Coming KLEAN: Stories of Overcoming Addiction

This documentary chronicles the lives of people who have faced and conquered addiction. Through distinct chapters outlining the beginning, the addiction, the recovery and their lives today, we delve into the complexities of addiction, the depth of its effects and the powerful journey of recovery. The film aspires to erase the stigma and to ultimately change the conversation surrounding addiction.
April 24, 2025

The Journey from Addiction to Recovery: A Playlist of Over 40 Stories

This playlist is a powerful source of inspiration that will take you on a journey from addiction to recovery. It features real-life experiences of individuals who overcame their struggle with addiction and found a new way of life through sobriety. You’ll hear firsthand about the challenges they faced, the losses they endured, and the strength it took to get sober. But most importantly, this playlist is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit in the midst of adversity. Every story shared is a reminder that it’s never too late to change your life for the better. So, if you’re struggling with addiction or know someone who is, take heart in the powerful message of this playlist that you too can overcome and rise above your circumstances to find a better, healthier way of life.
April 24, 2025

The Road to Recovery: 6 Personal Stories

This compelling documentary features six people who detail their poignant journey from addiction to recovery, including discussions of relapse. They discuss their childhood trauma and it is evident that these distressing experiences propelled their addictions. The emotional pain, too much to bare, led to their substance abuse because, as they describe, being intoxicated was a relief, a break, from their lives. They all hit their own personal rock bottoms and each found recovery through various treatment options.
April 24, 2025

Addiction & Homeless Crisis – Seattle is Dying

This documentary details the addiction and the homeless crisis in Seattle. This story is about a seething, simmering anger that is now boiling over into outrage. It is about people who have felt compassion, yes, but who no longer feel safe, no longer feel like they are heard, no longer feel protected. It is about lost souls who wander our streets untethered to home or family or reality, chasing a drug which, in turn, chases them. It is about the damage they inflict on themselves, but also on the fabric of this place where we life. This story is about a beautiful jewel that has been violated and a crisis of faith amongst a generation of Seattleites falling out of love with their home. There is another part of this story too – it’s about a solution, an idea, for a city that has run out of them, and I ask again, what if Seattle is dying and we don’t even know it?
April 24, 2025

The Meth Epidemic – PBS Frontline

This video investigates meth addiction in America: the impact on individuals, families and communities, and the difficulty of controlling an essential ingredient in meth—ephedrine and pseudoephedrine—sold legally in over-the-counter cold remedies.