April 25, 2025

Poison Pill: San Diego’s Battle Against Fentanyl

NBC 7 decided to dig deeper, beyond the headlines and statistics, to understand how and why this fentanyl emergency has unfolded in San Diego County, as well as the impact the crisis is having in our communities and finally, what work needs to be done to fight what’s being called an epidemic. During our journey, we spoke with parents who’ve lost their kids, overdose survivors, academic and medical professionals, representatives of government agencies and activists. Their stories from the front lines of this battle are raw, honest and sometimes frightening. Through telling these stories, we hope San Diegans can better understand the magnitude of the fentanyl crisis and what we need to do together to protect our families from that next poison pill.
April 25, 2025

Contaminated: The Fentanyl Crisis in St. Louis

Fentanyl is the defining drug of the overdose epidemic in St. Louis. It has no taste or smell, even a handful of it could kill thousands of people. It reaches into every corner of society, suburbs and cities, rich and poor, black and white. Many who become addicted have no idea they’re even taking it and it’s caused drug addiction in the region to spiral out of control. More than 70% of overdose deaths in the St. Louis area now involve fentanyl. We spent months looking into the local crisis. This story is told by recovering addicts, those fighting for change, and those left behind.
April 23, 2025

Beating Alcohol Addiction Through Evidence-Based Treatment

This documentary follows Mike Pond, a therapist managing his alcohol addiction. He was only ever offered one treatment after losing his practice, his house, his family, and becoming homeless: Alcoholics Anonymous. This abstinence-based treatment approach did not work for him, so he started looking for other ways to heal himself and others. Mike is an advocate for “compassionate, evidence-based treatments” and feels that “harm reduction, or any positive change, offers clients the best chance of beating addictions.”
April 20, 2025

Smashed: Breaking the Cycle of Alcohol Use Disorder

“Dr. Jeff Harries, the founder of the Canadian Alcohol Use Disorder Society, has been working to ensure that AUD be understand and treated as a medical condition.” He strongly believes that “people suffering from this disease should not be shamed or marginalized. His 20 years of experience in prescribing effective medications and spreading awareness of a more effective, compassionate approach has helped thousands of people to recover and heal.” Unfortunately, his work was derailed when he was diagnosed with ALS in 2018. He passed in 2021.