Louis Theroux, Heroin Town

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0991fsb/louis-theroux-dark-states-1-heroin-town

Did anybody else watch this ? I found it chilling. This is right in the heart of America. These peoples lives are in complete chaos.

I am a great fan of Theroux. I think he is very brave, going into places that most of us would fear to tread.

But I have one criticism....I would have liked him to have asked these people why they started to take heroin in the first place. Most of these drug addicts were educated and articulate, and yet none of them seemed to have stopped for one minute and asked themselves....what the hell am I doing ?

They must have realised that as soon as they started, they were not going to be able to stop....that is the nature of the addiction.

[murraymints]

I too really admire Theroux, he doesn't half go into some situations.. the funniest when he wanted to be a porn star !! have this one on record to watch later

[ummmm]

I'm watching it as we speak.

He does ask them how they got into it. Most so far have said prescription drugs in their own houses and it escalates from there.

[Islay]

He did ask some of them like the one living on a riverbank was because of pain following an accident and one of the women had been addicted to prescription went to her dr for help and the dr withdrew all medications so she went to heroin!

[mallyh]

when they don't get the high from other drugs they move on to heroine ,awful, horrible drug always trying to get the high ,but they don't .

[anneasquith]

Another excellent documentary from LT.

[Mamyalynne]

Chilling is the word, yes over prescription which when stopped sent them looking elsewhere was the route for many. Followed by a never ending spiral downwards with little or no hope.

[douglas9401]

I missed the start but I gather from what I heard that drug companies developed 'safe' synthetic opioids and pushed doctors to prescribe them heavily and when it was discovered that they were as addictive as the real thing they were severely cut back by government.
This left addicts with no supply and they moved over to heroin, some of which was cut with the most powerful synthetics causing overdose and mayhem.
Helluva situation and makes me look on my own GP limiting the good stuff when I thought I needed it. Turns out he was right and I wasn't. Imagine.