Heroin(e)

Firstly, and I'll say this first before I start my praise, I can agree with some other reviewers that this documentary does not show the darkest side of heroin addiction nor the most wicked and horrendous world of the addicts. However that said, this documentary is still very very good and 40minutes well spent.

The power and sadness of this documentary lies in the dialogue, as well as the heartbreaking monologues. "I fear that we have lost a couple of generations" (Jan Rader) followed by captions informing us that Huntington is the overdose capital of America with a death rate 10 times higher than the national average. Does the viewer really need the picture painted to them with shocking gory scenes? Abuse. Violence. Self-destruction. It's all there - inbetween the lines. In people's eyes. When the guy in the fire department says that 'all you see is the bad, it's constant, bad bad bad." He pauses, and there's such pain in his eyes as he continues "And then you drink". The subtle destruction of those working around the clock to save the lives of those using. I found that so incredibly tragic.

A beautiful juxtaposition takes place in this documentary. Against the eerie shots of 6th Avenue, where prostitutes waste away for drug money, and scenes from the drug court, where the failure to follow the program sends dead-eyed addicts to jail, there is the power and persistence of those who will not bend to the drug and the massive problems it causes. In focus are 3 women who in each way of their own, try to make a difference. I found all of them extremely admirable - and in all the misery that is the hard world of drugs, we need this kind of hope. We need to see the fighters that do not give up - who keep at it even in a battle that seems lost. Giving space to hope is not the same as whitewashing a problem.

I watched this with both smiles on my faces and eyes tearing up. I think there is a clever shift between despair and optimism. This documentary is not out to shock. It tells a tale of extensive drug use with calmness and that can be stronger than in your face footage. I hear the words 'elephant tranquilliser' from a former addict, and cannot even grasp what that would do to a human being. Lucky to be alive beyond doubt. A point also worth to raise. People do get clean, even if they often relapse as old heroin ghosts whisper lies in their ears and minds. This documentary shows us that too. It also gives way for recognition and wonder - the 3 women are indeed true heroines! The title delivers. This is good.

10/18/17. A somewhat whitewashed version of the current opiate epidemic that some may find inspirational. While it gives viewers an inside look at what first responders must deal with when it comes to overdoses, it paints a somewhat skewed picture of those addicted. Those individuals highlighted as drug users seem a lot more cooperative than they really are. If they were this cooperative there wouldn't be such a big problem. Maybe it'll raise awareness. The one to watch is FBI's "Chasing the Dragon" on Youtube.

I'm just willing to bet the person who thought up this 'clever-clever' title also thinks they came up with 'dogis God spelt sideways'.

Anyone so bereft of being able to come up - just with the project's name is someone who's lack of creativity is already being displayed before your eyes, is not someone who's got anything new to add to this discussion.

This is nothing more than yet another look at the admittedly dire situation some people in W. Virginia have found themselves in, and it's through the lens of someone with zero understanding of the situation, and it comes out

I'm not 'anti-dope documentaries - hell, I was involved with a very well-known one myself (I'm not going to say whether my involvement was in front, or behind the camera. That's irrelevant). What I am sickened by is more of the same old... same old, which this is.

How -riventing, unique, shocking, anything can this be?

Not very. It doesnt shine anything new onto the heroin situation.

Personally,I'd love for a documentary which would focus - not just on the drug/addiction aspect, but, what happens to those who want to get off the 'merry-go-round'?

The percentage of treatments the average junkie will go through will be more than 10 - EASILY. Some detoxes last such a short time (in-patient; 3 days), that, when the person's been detoxed, they're technically clean, but, they're no better than sending a person who's just had major heart surgery, & has recuperated just a couple of days. They're VERY raw, & the next step - rehab - is where many people don't/won't go (the first 10, or so times after detox), but it's necessary.

That's where people no really want to get their lives back need to go, bit, the problem is these places are SO tricked-out, in so many ways (their's detoxes where there no one with ANY p'rofessional sheepskin' to back them up. In cc alifornia, which is NOTORIOUS, all you need to open a rehab (which is a license to steal money to many), is a couple of hundred bucks for the license.

There's nothing about licensing only places which are being run by medical, psychological professionals - NOTHING.

West Virginia's a place where there are I'mmany who started on oxycontin. It was only after those became scarce, or the price/pill was way too high (a bag of dope is apps US$10/20, whereas 1 Oxy's MANY times that amount. MANY. The natural inclination is 'look for the bargains..

Unfortunately, many of the people who are making decisions on how to deal with this haven't been down the 'dark tunnel' themselves. Though they (mostly) mean well, they make decisions which can affect many (statewide, citywide) based upon what ten people trying to promote their treatment modus operandi, but, those people are interested in one thing; $.

That means until - if ever - a state such as W Va actually gets its hands dirty by speaking with those who are currently affected, & those who - after YEARS of trying to clean themselves, & who know how hard it is, when the only person you can count on isoneseulf, places like this will never - ever - even begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Heroin(e) is a film that succinctly underlines why we need more women in positions of leadership, across the world. This Academy nominated short follows three women - a fire-chief, a judge and a missionary - as they fight an escalating drug crisis in a region dubbed the overdose capital of America. Among the many interesting moments, there's one where one of the women faces resistance during a town meeting, where she's asked to justify why she is saving the lives of people who are seen as a burden to the community. Her response really underscores the humanity of this film and almost becomes an allegory for the hope one needs to carry in times when the world is seemingly falling apart. While the film is shot on the go and the moving camera can give you a bit of a headache, it's still a beautiful ode to the power of what it truly means to be human.

The recent Emmy-winning miniseries "Dopesick" looked at the opioid crisis in West Virginia and how Purdue Pharma (run by the Sackler family) pushed addictive medications on the people, causing large numbers of premature deaths. It turned out that there was another look at the opioid crisis. Elaine McMillion Sheldon's Academy Award-nominated "Heroin(e)" focused on a number of people in Huntington, West Virginia, a small town disproportionately affected by opioids. Part of the focus is how these desperate people turn to drugs, and another part is how other people in the town have tried to help them.

Basically, the things to understand are how big pharma preyed on hopelessness, and how the community has sought to lessen the epidemic's impacts. Everyone should see this documentary.