Opioid abuse has become the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50. The veins of this outbreak have spread across the country, but Interstate 95 is the main artery. The interstate stretching from Florida to Maine is a stronghold for drug dealers, and it’s here that cameras track the death and destruction in the sobering documentary “Fentanyl on the Rise.”
Produced by the BBC, the film is a sequel to another documentary that premiered two years ago. Revisiting the same locations, the filmmakers discover a more desperate and deadly environment than before.
In Baltimore — the heroin capital of the United States — the number of overdoses is almost ten times higher than it was in 2013. Here, a drug addict named Anna was recently released from prison on prostitution charges. She was determined to stop using needles, but her resolve quickly wore off as she walked the familiar streets. Lawyers do their best to feed and clothe people like Anna, but they know that many of the souls they try to feed are destined to end up in the morgue.
In Florida, a drug addiction specialist grapples with a worsening epidemic. One of her patients was a young mother who nearly became addicted to drugs shortly after giving birth.
A drug addiction neighborhood in Philadelphia has been declared a disaster area. The filmmaker accompanies paramedics resuscitating drug addicts lying in the street. Unfortunately, this situation is very common.
In Manchester, New Hampshire, detectives conduct undercover surveillance and show how drugs are transported and distributed in the heart of a quaint and humble neighborhood.
Decades ago, some of these communities were bogged down by heroin abuse, but fentanyl is changing the game. It is much stronger than heroin, cheaper to buy, and more readily available. People are dying at an alarming rate never seen before. “If the epidemic doesn’t bother you, then don’t,” one official said.
The rise of fentanyl is a deeply sad look at the worst public health crisis in American history.
Directed by: Darren Conway
