Louis Theroux: Dark States - Heroin Town

Synopsis

America's love affair with prescription painkillers has led to widespread dependency on opiates. But following a crackdown on their over-prescription, the pills are increasingly expensive and scarce on the black market. Vast numbers of Americans have now turned to the cheaper and stronger opiate: he... America's love affair with prescription painkillers has led to widespread dependency on opiates. But following a crackdown on their over-prescription, the pills are increasingly expensive and scarce on the black market. Vast numbers of Americans have now turned to the cheaper and stronger opiate: heroin. In Huntington, West Virginia, Louis sees first-hand the devastating results of this heroin epidemic. He follows the frontline emergency services responding to multiple overdose call-outs on a daily basis, and spends time with a community of users caught in the vice-like grip of drug misuse as they struggle to maintain their everyday lives.