After losing their sons to drug overdoses, two Orange County mothers set out to educate young people about prescription drugs, addiction, and overdose. Through firsthand accounts from grieving parents, young people affected by addiction, and addiction professionals, this documentary explores how experimentation can develop into devastating substance use problems. Created as a prevention tool for young audiences and families, it challenges assumptions about who can develop an addiction while emphasizing the consequences of drug use, the warning signs families should recognize, and the importance of honest conversations.
This 2012 Global News investigation examines the OxyContin controversy in Canada through the experiences of patients, grieving families, researchers, and medical professionals. As prescriptions for the powerful pain medication increased, so did concerns about addiction, overdose, and the way its risks had been presented to doctors and patients. The report investigates Purdue Pharma's marketing of OxyContin, its influence within pain medicine, and allegations that the drug's potential for addiction was deliberately downplayed, while revealing the devastating consequences prescription opioid use had already left behind.
Across Arkansas, individuals and families share deeply personal experiences of opioid addiction, overdose, loss, and recovery. Their stories reveal how prescription opioids, heroin, and fentanyl have shaped the state's opioid crisis, while experts explain how dependence and opioid use disorder can develop and why the drug supply has become increasingly dangerous. Alongside accounts of repeated overdose and lives lost are stories of survival and recovery, highlighting the work of healthcare professionals, advocates, families, and communities responding to the crisis and supporting people as they rebuild their lives.
San Diego County has become a major battleground in the fentanyl crisis, with counterfeit pills, drug trafficking, and online drug markets contributing to a devastating rise in overdose deaths. Families, survivors, law enforcement, medical professionals, and community advocates share their experiences while examining how fentanyl reaches local communities and why young people are particularly vulnerable. The investigation also explores efforts to save lives through naloxone, fentanyl test strips, low-barrier care, and medications for opioid use disorder, showing how prevention and treatment have become critical parts of the response.
Families, harm-reduction workers, and experts share their experiences of North Carolina’s fentanyl epidemic and the devastating toll of overdose across the state. The documentary examines how the opioid crisis evolved from prescription medications to heroin and illicit fentanyl, while exploring drug trafficking, pharmaceutical accountability, and the state’s response to rising deaths. It also looks at harm-reduction efforts, including naloxone and fentanyl test strips, and follows people working directly with communities affected by addiction. Their stories show both the human cost of the crisis and the efforts underway to prevent further loss.
Parents who lost their children to fentanyl share deeply personal stories of addiction, overdose, and grief as the crisis takes a growing toll on young people in Fresno, California. Alongside their experiences, medical professionals, law enforcement, and frontline workers discuss the dangers of fentanyl and the challenges of responding to overdoses within their communities. The film also examines how substance use can remain hidden from families until it is too late, while emphasizing the need for greater awareness, education, and support for young people and their parents.
Families across Texas share the devastating impact of fentanyl as overdose deaths rise and increasingly affect young people. Through grieving parents, advocates, survivors, and law enforcement, the investigation explores the dangers of counterfeit pills and the trafficking networks bringing illicit fentanyl into the United States. It also follows parents and organizations who have turned personal loss into advocacy, raising awareness about the risks facing their communities and working to prevent further deaths while law enforcement confronts the challenges of disrupting the fentanyl supply.
After years of reporting on addiction and the opioid crisis, journalist Angela Kennecke experienced the crisis personally when her 21-year-old daughter, Emily, died from fentanyl poisoning. She shares her family’s story while continuing to investigate the issues affecting other families across South Dakota. Through personal stories and expert perspectives, the special explores fentanyl, overdose, stigma, Good Samaritan laws, drug courts, medication-assisted treatment, and recovery. It also follows Kennecke as she turns the loss of her daughter into advocacy through Emily’s Hope, an organization dedicated to prevention, awareness, and recovery.
Go inside Rhode Island’s opioid epidemic through the experiences of people who use drugs, families, frontline workers, and those in recovery. From overdose prevention and harm reduction to peer support and treatment, the film examines how the state has responded to the crisis while showing the human impact behind the statistics. Personal stories of addiction, loss, relapse, and recovery reveal why keeping people alive and connected to care remains at the heart of Rhode Island’s efforts.
Personal stories of prescription opioid and heroin addiction reveal how quickly substance use can take over a person’s life and affect everyone around them. Individuals and families share experiences of withdrawal, relapse, overdose, grief, and recovery, while professionals discuss the progression of opioid addiction and the risks facing young people. Several stories trace the transition from prescription painkillers to heroin, showing how tolerance, dependence, cost, and the pursuit of a stronger high can lead people down increasingly dangerous paths.
