Communities nationwide are struggling with the effects of opioid addiction. Mountain Lake PBS has been covering the issue with local stories for at least three years now.
Local coverage
Mountain Lake PBS has been following the heroin epidemic locally for years, including many stories and full 1-hour forums. Communities continue to struggle with addiction and treatment. This week on Mountain Lake Journal, we speak with family members of an addict about how they are trying to help others.
You can also view past coverage from MLJ about the growing opioid crisis.
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PBS Newshour’s America Addicted
Over the next 10 weeks, PBS NewsHour will air a series called America Addicted. The stories will explore addiction, recovery, and more. Learn more and watch stories at PBS NewsHour now.
- Community on the Edge – In Huntington, WVa we see how the opioid crisis has left its mark on one small town, producing everything from first responder burnout and overwhelmed foster care systems to clogged sewage systems and overdose rates that have caught national attention.
- Rehab High – Part of combating the opioid epidemic is getting to potential addicts before they start a lifelong habit. Hope Academy in Indianapolis aims to do just that. It is a small high school that caters to teenagers who are trying to stay clean.
- Fatal Fentanyl – Fentanyl a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin is the current wave in the opioid epidemic. We look at how the drug works, how it comes into the U.S. and what is being done on the ground to deal with it.
- Window into Addiction Treatment – We go to Rhode Island and look at the options for treatment and the growing movement toward peer supported recovery.
- Best Practices – For years, New Mexico has been at the nexus of its own opioid crisis and has been at the forefront of developing innovative solutions to combat that problem. However, while they have seen improvements, Rio Arriba county remains one of the nation’s hotspots for opioid overdoses and deaths.
- How to Treat Chronic Pain Without Opioids – How doctors and health systems are trying to reduce the number of prescriptions while also effectively managing chronic pain.
- Engineering Alternatives to Opioids – NewsHour Science Correspondent Miles O’Brien looks at innovative ways to treat pain options, including implanting small electronics into a patient’s cheek and alternative treatment approaches.
- Poems on the Opioid Crisis – NewsHour Chief Correspondent for Arts, Culture and Society Jeff Brown talks to William Brewer who has written a series of poems exploring the opioid epidemic in Appalachia.
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