>> Tonight on 
Frontline...
>> It was like a wave of heroin.
>> NARRATOR: A two-hour special
 report.
>> I lost it all, and it really
didn't matter to me as long as
I could get high.
>> NARRATOR: Inside an epidemic.
>> I'm not putting you in jail.
>> NARRATOR: The radical new
 approach.
>> It should not all be seen as
a criminal justice problem.
It ought to be seen as a public
health issue.
>> NARRATOR: The police and
 social workers on the ground.
>> People are going to use
drugs.
Let's make it safe for them
until they're ready to do
something different.
>> NARRATOR: The 
 personal battles.
>> She was clean for a while,
but this is the thing about
treatment: it's not a magic
bullet.
>> NARRATOR: And the new face
 of addiction.
>> I will not let this kill me.
>> NARRATOR: Frontline
 investigates this very
 different war on drugs.
>> What can we do differently
from sending people to jail?
>> NARRATOR: And if it's
 working.
>> You're left with the most
fundamental question: where do
you send your kid for treatment?
>> NARRATOR: Tonight on
Frontline, "Chasing Heroin."
>> There are some alarming new
numbers out from the CDC showing
a dramatic rise in the heroin
epidemic.
>> Painkillers is an expensive
habit.
Many now turning to a cheaper
way to chase that high.
>> The number of heroin overdose
deaths nearly quadrupled.
>> NARRATOR: It's been creeping
up on us for a long time:
America's heroin problem.
>> The sudden rise in heroin
overdoses is occurring in cities
big and small.
>> NARRATOR: Overdoses from
heroin and other opioids now
kill almost 27,000 people
a year.
And the numbers keep rising.
>> Authorities say the drug
is increasingly making its way
to wealthy suburbs, and into
the hands of young Americans.
>> In the last 12 months,
have you done speedballs?
>> Yes.
>> Goofballs?
>> Yes.
>> Heroin by itself?
>> Yes.
>> Last three months, have you
done pain meds-- Oxys, Vicodin?
>> Nope.
>> And how many times have you
overdosed from opiates in your
life?
>> Never.
>> And how many times have you
witnessed someone else overdose
from opiates?
>> Three times.
I don't have a cooker.
>> I got one.
>> David took my last cooker.
>> This isn't clean.
>> Dude, I have cleans.
Here, that's clear.
>> NARRATOR: Kristina Block says
she first tried smoking heroin
when she was a teenager.
>> When I was 14, I tried heroin
and it just, like, made
everything feel, like, safe and
okay.
Did I give you enough cleans?
I think I got really trapped
in it, because I mean, I guess
I didn't know too much about
what addiction was.
Thank you.
And it just became so
second-nature.
It consumed me.
>> NARRATOR: She moved to
injecting by the time she was
16.
>> I was friends with this girl
who was, like, 24, and she was
shooting up reg...
like, that's how she did it.
And I just was kind of
interested in it.
And I asked her to hit me
one time.
>> NARRATOR: Kristina is now
seven years into her addiction.
>> It's just so insane what this
drug, like, can make you do.
Like, it literally has a brain.
And it shares mine, you know?
>> Right now, how much heroin is
in your system?
>> Probably, like, $40 worth.
>> So, what determines how much
you use?
>> Well, the number one thing
that determines how much I use
is how much money I have,
or how much dope I have.
>> NARRATOR: There are many
different reasons why people
turn to heroin.
Four years ago, Johnny Bousquet,
38, says he started using to
cope with the breakup of his
marriage.
>> I felt like it alleviated the
pain that I was going through.
It just made me feel like I can
make it through that moment.
And then eventually, I needed it
to get through every moment.
>> NARRATOR: Johnny's mother was
also a heroin addict.
She was gone by the time
he was 19.
>> One day, me and my sister,
we found her dead in her room
with a needle in her arm.
She lost her battle with heroin
then.
I know she loved us, and I know
she really cared about us.
And I would always wonder
if she loved heroin more than
she loved us.
>> NARRATOR: He's now living
in a homeless shelter and
struggling to stay clean.
>> At least a few times a day,
I think, "Man, it would be a
really good time to get loaded
right now.
You know, you can pull through
and be okay.
Why don't you even just get
a little bit high?
That'll be fine."
And then something else takes
over, and then next thing you
know, it's two days later.
I've just been, like, fighting
that, you know?
I can't seem to get a hold of
myself no matter how hard I try.
>> MARTIN SMITH: How does the
street look to you tonight?
>> Right here it's pretty quiet.
When we turn the corner,
it might be different.
Are you taking a right, Felix?
>> Yes.
>> Okay.
>> NARRATOR: As the heroin
epidemic has spread, cities and
states have grown desperate
to come up with solutions.
Here in Seattle, beat cops
are four years into a radical
experiment to deal with drug use
on their streets.
>> "Aw (bleep), cops."
Hate that, don't you?
I want you to do me a favor.
Do me a favor.
Stop moving, stop moving.
Okay, good, whew.
Because when you're moving,
I don't know what you're doing
and I get...
When you stop moving, I got you.
You're getting well.
Not a big deal.
All right, I'm not gonna jam
you up.
We gotta find out who you are,
okay?
Cool.
>> The girl on the ground is
getting well.
She's shooting heroin.
Stop crying, babe.
We don't care.
>> NARRATOR: These officers are
making fewer arrests.
They are more likely to refer
addicts they encounter to social
services.
>> Where's the syringe?
'Cause I want to be safe.
>> SMITH: So you've become
a social worker.
>> We are social workers.
>> SMITH: You are social
workers.
>> Yeah.
>> SMITH: But a viewer listening
to you now would say, "Gee,
you're taking an awfully..."
>> Bleeding heart?
>> SMITH: ..."gentle approach."
>> We could not incarcerate
these people or arrest our way
out of the problem.
You would arrest a person,
they'd be in jail for 20
or 30 days.
They would get sober.
They would start using again,
we'd continue to arrest them.
And then they would use,
and continue to arrest.
How much do you use a day?
>> Like five dollars.
>> Okay, and how long have you
been using?
>> I just got out of jail.
>> I'm not putting you in jail.
Are you a meth user too?
>> No.
>> Do you have any desire to get
on methadone and get well?
>> That's what I'm trying to do.
>> If you have a problem,
come and see me at this office.
I'll give you something to eat.
I'll let you call your parents.
We'll sit down and we'll have
a talk.
Do you still need that cooker?
>> Yeah.
>> Okay.
>> NARRATOR: The most recent
surge of heroin abuse has
altered our approach to
addiction and our views
on the war on drugs.
>> 31-year-old-male.
He's unconscious, breathing...
>> Cops and prosecutors and
epidemiologists, public health
nurses, county coroners.
All of this is being fought
by really anonymous folks
all across the country
because this epidemic is also
the quietest epidemic.
It's filled with shame.
>> Obvious overdose.
Known history of heroin use.
Admitted to using heroin today.
He was found unconscious, they
kinda roused him, they're gonna
start an IV on him.
>> You don't have a lot of
violence, people die alone in
a McDonald's bathroom toilet.
And then when the people die,
when the kids die, the parents
are so mortified, so ashamed
that they keep quiet, too.
And the thing is left
to perpetrate and spread.
>> NARRATOR: How did this
epidemic begin?
It's a crisis 30 years
in the making.
>> Bottom line: too many
Americans are suffering from too
much pain, and doctors aren't
doing enough to stop it.
>> In this country, there was
a long-running puritanical
attitude towards pain.
And it resulted in almost
a barbaric under-treatment of
pain, particularly when it came
to people with cancer and in
the terminal stages of cancer.
>> There had to be better
treatment for people in serious
pain.
So there was a whole effort to
open up minds to allow hospice
care and good pain management
for people with cancer.
And then that spread into AIDS
because people with AIDS often
had very serious pain problems.
>> NARRATOR: Doctors had long
avoided prescribing opioid
painkillers for fear of
addicting their patients.
That changed with the emergence
of the hospice movement.
>> That movement collides with
an opportunistic drug company in
the form of Purdue Pharma.
They see the opportunity to
expand the use of these drugs
beyond the cancer wards,
kind of into the mainstream
of medicine.
And the drug that becomes the
vehicle through which they do
that is a drug called OxyContin.
>> OxyContin is one of America's
new prescription wonder drugs.
It's a powerful painkiller...
>> OxyContin was not really
a new drug.
The molecule had been around
since 1916.
What they did is they took
this old, existing drug and they
introduced a time-release
mechanism into it so that
it would be significantly less
addictive because it wouldn't be
released up front all at once.
That's how they pitched it
to the FDA.
>> Purdue Pharma marketed it
to doctors who were prescribing
drugs for all manner of ailments
to common, ordinary folks
who were not dying of cancer.
To them, OxyContin initially
looked like a godsend.
It looked like this wonder drug.
Like, all of a sudden, we can
give this, and we don't need to
prescribe eight Vicodin a day.
>> There is no question that the
marketing of OxyContin was the
most aggressive marketing of a
narcotic drug ever undertaken
by a pharmaceutical producer.
The FDA allowed them to make
the claim that, because it was
a long-acting drug, it might--
the stress being on the word
"might"-- be less prone
to addiction and abuse
than traditional drugs.
There was absolutely no science
to support this idea-- zero.
>> The under-treatment of pain
is a major public health
problem.
>> NARRATOR: To urge doctors
to treat pain more aggressively,
Purdue Pharma,
launched a series
of promotional videos.
>> The pain that I have
basically covers my neck
to my feet.
>> 34 million adults suffer
from chronic pain.
>> NARRATOR: The company
deployed prominent pain
specialists like Dr. Russell
Portenoy to ease concerns
about addiction.
>> The likelihood that the
treatment of pain using an
opioid drug which is prescribed
by a doctor will lead to
addiction is extremely low.
>> Opioids are safe
and effective medicines...
>> The message in these programs
was that real addiction in your
patients treated with opioids
is exceptionally rare.
>> Less than one percent
of patients...
>> Purdue Pharma managed
to persuade a lot of good people
in medicine that they needed
to dramatically up their
prescriptions of opioids.
Now, part of the reason they
were able to do that is that
there was clear evidence
there were some people in pain
who didn't need to be in pain
and we had underused them.
There's no doubt about that.
But there's also no doubt about
it that they were commercially
driven.
>> NARRATOR: By 2001, Purdue was
selling more than $1 billion
worth of OxyContin a year.
Prescriptions for other opioids
soared too, for drugs like
Percocet and Vicodin.
>> We went from a country that
used almost no opiate
painkillers, like in the '50s
and '60s, to being a country
where we used 83% of the world's
oxycodone, and almost 98% of the
world's hydrocodone.
It's night and day.
It's a stunning statistic.
>> NARRATOR: Most of the users
were white men and women
living in towns and suburbs.
Cari Creasia, a stay-at-home mom
living in Kent, Washington,
was prescribed Vicodin after
the birth of her second child.
When her prescription ran out,
she wanted more.
>> I just pursued it.
I went to a doctor
and I made up an ailment.
I said, "I have terrible
migraine headaches."
In order to get more, I got on
the phone the next day and
said, "This one's not working.
I think I'm allergic to it."
"Okay, are you sure?
We'll prescribe something
different."
Before all was said and done
with this doctor, he was
prescribing me 300 to 400 pills
per month.
>> Highly regarded by his
patients, they rate him
3.5 out of 4 stars.
>> NARRATOR: Her prescribing
physician was a doctor
with top credentials.
>> He has won a number
of awards.
>> He was a young doctor.
I think he was fairly new
in the field, early 30s.
For a couple of years,
it worked.
He never once said, "This is
a problem."
>> NARRATOR: No one in
her family seemed to notice.
>> She still was functional.
She would still have the façade
of looking like she was
completely together.
Like the poster child PTA mom
that everybody looked up to
and everybody wanted to be.
>> NARRATOR: During that period
of her life, she says she was
consuming around 15 to 20
painkillers a day.
>> It felt that good to me,
and it made me feel that
comfortable in my own skin.
I felt like I was a better mom,
a better person, easier to be
around.
It made me feel like I was
functioning on a higher level.
>> NARRATOR: The supply from her
doctor remained steady for the
next two years.
But then one day, Cari ran out
of pills.
>> He was on vacation.
Nobody ever told me, "Now that
you're taking these pills,
you can't just stop.
You're going to get ill."
And getting sick was kinda like
truth serum for me.
It made me want to talk.
It made me want to reach out.
So I asked my ex-husband
to help me.
>> NARRATOR: Cari's husband
confronted her doctor about the
dozens of bottles of painkillers
he had prescribed.
>> He said, "I thought she was
smarter than that.
You're gonna have to wean her."
He scolded me.
I left there feeling rather
ashamed and like I had done him
wrong.
>> NARRATOR: Cari promised
to stop-- to go cold turkey.
But she couldn't.
>> I began seeking pills
in various ways, and it started
with going through people's
medicine cabinets, the
neighbors, people from church,
family members, grandparents.
I even went to real estate open
houses and then asked to use
the bathroom to obtain pills.
>> If you're calling to refill
a prescription and know your
prescription number...
>> And I'd call in refills on
these medications, calling these
automated lines at Walgreens,
posing as the nurse from this
doctor's office.
"Please refill this,"
go through the drive-thru
and pick it up.
"I'm so-and-so's daughter,"
or friend, "and she's sick.
I have to pick up her script."
No questions asked.
>> NARRATOR: After two years
of stealing other people's
prescriptions, one morning, she
ran into trouble at Walgreens.
>> I went to the drive-up window
and the pharmacist said,
"This isn't your script.
We called the doctor.
This is fraudulent."
He called the police.
They came to the house.
"Do you have small children
here?
Well, put them on the computer
downstairs.
We're not gonna arrest you if
you'll go and turn yourself in."
So my neighbor and friend drove
me down to the police station,
and that became a deferred
prosecution.
And as a result of that, I went
into in-patient treatment.
>> More and more Americans are
ending up in the hospital after
overdosing on prescription
drugs.
>> NARRATOR: It was a time when
the country was waking up to the
opioid crisis.
>> A national epidemic of pill
popping so bad it's being called
"Pharmageddon."
>> OxyContin was once marketed
as something of a wonder drug,
one that could stop pain without
getting patients addicted.
As it turns out, that was a lie,
and a deliberate one.
>> NARRATOR: In 2007, after a
four-year investigation by
federal prosecutors, Purdue
Pharma admitted to charges
of fraudulent marketing.
>> The executives conceded
they ignored widespread reports
of deaths and addictions.
>> NARRATOR: The company paid
$600 million in fines and
settlements.
>> Admitted they misled the
public...
>> NARRATOR: In a statement,
Purdue Pharma said they accepted
responsibility and 
"most significantly
re-formulated OxyContin with
abuse-deterrent properties."
Their most prominent medical
consultant, Dr. Portenoy,
expressed regret.
By 2009, a newly appointed team
at the Office of National Drug
Control Policy was coming to
grips with the magnitude of the
opioid crisis.
>> You know, all we had to do,
really, was pick up the paper
and just see every day, you
know, there was a story about
people dying or, you know,
doctors getting arrested for
running pill mills, those kinds
of things.
>> Shady pain clinics that will
prescribe just about anything
for a price.
>> NARRATOR: The new deputy drug
czar, Dr. Tom McLellan, was
poring over data on overdoses.
But it was outdated.
>> One of the problems is you
don't get the results of opiate
overdose for three years.
There's a lag of two years.
So it's like driving by looking
in the rear view mirror, okay?
>> SMITH: So you knew that there
was a rise in the prescription
rates.
>> Oh yeah, but we didn't
realize that the statistics
had already started to really
go way, way up.
>> NARRATOR: At the Centers for
Disease Control, director Tom
Frieden was looking at health
data for the whole country.
>> I was just stunned.
The only thing that was getting
worse was deaths from opiates.
Everything else was getting
better.
But then I began looking through
the whole of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
and I was seeing the impact of
opiates everywhere.
Birth defects, neonatal
abstinence syndrome.
Hepatitis C and HIV.
This is an unusual and horrific
phenomenon.
It's an emerging problem...
>> NARRATOR: Frieden started
raising the alarm.
One day in the spring of 2010,
Frieden approached an official
at the drug czar's office,
Dr. Keith Humphreys.
>> We meet privately, and he
says, "You guys in the White
House need to start using the
word 'epidemic' for opioids.
This is an epidemic.
Look at all these people dying.
This is like the early parts
of AIDS.
We need to really ramp up
concern about this.
This is killing lots of people."
>> NARRATOR: The team at the
Office of National Drug Control
Policy decided it was time to
get President Obama's attention.
>> We said that it was going
to be an even bigger problem.
>> SMITH: Did you see that
that was gonna lead to a rise
in heroin addiction?
>> Oh, yeah.
I mean, prescription opiates
is heroin prep school.
The inevitable thing is gonna be
a reduction in the availability
of those.
Once that happens, you have
to turn to something, and that
is gonna be high-potency
street opiates, heroin.
>> SMITH: And did you take those
warnings to the White House?
>> Yes, we did.
>> SMITH: And?
>> "Thank you for sharing."
I mean, they get warnings all
the time about dire things that
are gonna happen.
Some happen, some don't.
It was not the main thing
for the Obama administration.
They had a few other tiny little
problems, like the Affordable
Care Act.
America's still reeling from
the bank collapse and real
estate collapse and all that.
Little things.
>> Push to stop a real epidemic
of prescription painkiller
abuse.
>> NARRATOR: One year later,
the White House called for more
prescriber education and
additional prescription
monitoring.
>> Prescribing fewer pills
at one time...
>> NARRATOR: By that time,
doctors were writing enough
prescriptions a year to
give a bottle of painkillers
to every American adult.
>> NARRATOR: As for Cari,
despite a stint in rehab, she
couldn't shake her addiction.
Ten years after she first got
hooked on opioids, she moved out
of her house, leaving her
husband and two kids.
She eventually started a new
relationship and began a new
life.
But then one day, she ran into
an old friend from high school.
>> I said, "I'm in recovery."
That's how we started talking.
She said, "I'm supposed to be
too."
I said, "Maybe we should talk
sometime."
So I went to her house to talk,
and instead of having coffee,
we smoked a bowl of meth because
that was her drug of choice.
And it went from there.
>> NARRATOR: Cari's addiction
was slowly progressing.
She would start abusing meth,
but would return to opiods.
>> At the bus stop one day,
I started talking to a gentleman
and brought it up.
"I'm looking for opiates."
"Well, I've got something for
you."
Walked over to the honey pot,
you know, the green, temporary
bathrooms at construction sites.
I went in there to do it.
I came out.
"Did you like it?"
"I loved it.
Get me some more."
So he did.
>> NARRATOR: Cari, like some
opioid addicts, had moved on
to street heroin.
It wasn't long before she began
living in this house,
now renovated, with 20 other
addicts.
>> I wound up living in a house
down at the bottom of the hill.
Oh, man.
The animals weren't taken
outside to relieve themselves.
We were living with animal
feces.
It was a very filthy
environment.
And before long, that was
my home.
>> It was gross.
It was never like a place
I've ever been before.
And I was seeing people pretty
much overdosing in other rooms.
It was, like, people's eyes
were rolling in the back
of their heads.
And it was shocking to me
because she would just act as
if that wasn't happening when
she was hanging out with me.
Like, "How's your day been?"
you know.
And this was the point where
I was like, "You're not even
trying anymore.
You're not even trying to
pretend that this isn't
happening anymore."
>> Addiction is weird.
It gets very weird.
During that time, I lost it all,
and it really didn't matter
to me.
As long as I could get high,
it was okay.
>> A heroin boom...
>> I have never seen the amount
of heroin that's on the streets
of America today.
>> The Mexican drug cartels
are flooding the U.S. with
cheap heroin.
>> NARRATOR: As painkillers
opened the way for heroin, the
Mexican drug cartels were ready.
>> Moving narcotics across
the border...
>> NARRATOR: They would take the
epidemic to a whole new level,
bringing cheap and highly
addictive heroin to towns
and suburbs across America.
>> They're selling heroin as if
it were pizza.
They were the first drug
trafficking group to understand
that the pill market was
essentially priming the heroin
market.
>> A quiet, unsuspecting
neighborhood was the perfect
cover for a cartel...
>> Wherever there was a town
that had a lot of pill users,
they would set up a store there.
They call them stores.
What you need is a large
community of pretty well-to-do
kids with money to buy the
dope, with cell phones to call
the dealer, with cars to go get
the dope, and private bedrooms
to shoot it up.
>> NARRATOR: Teenagers in
middle-class and wealthy
suburbs now had easy access to
black tar heroin.
Kids like Marah Williams.
>> Marah was a born athlete.
>> Nice pitch!
>> Way to go, Marah!
>> By the time she was about 13
or 14, she could throw a pitch
about 65 miles an hour.
>> One pitching instructor
that had her for a while
named her "The Rocket."
Everybody knew who Marah
Williams was-- everyone.
>> NARRATOR: Marah appeared to
have the happiest of childhoods,
full of privileges.
Ballet lessons.
Piano.
A close-knit family.
>> Her early childhood
was just ideal.
We lived in a beautiful
bedroom community in Seattle.
I had a great job.
We were a very tight foursome,
my husband and I and our two
children.
It was a great middle America
life, very happy.
>> NARRATOR: Her mother was
a local news anchor.
Her father was a stay-at-home
dad who doted on his girls.
>> When did you learn to do
that, Marah?
>> Our children went to good
schools.
The neighborhood was safe.
We never locked the door.
Marah was a very happy child.
>> NARRATOR: But by the time
she reached middle school,
Marah was struggling.
>> A lot of anxiety, a lot of
depression.
By this time, she'd been
diagnosed with ADHD.
It was clear she had some eating
disorder issues.
We were just trying to find the
right mix of therapy, meds.
>> Marah, how old are you this
year?
>> Thirteen!
>> NARRATOR: Marah was also
self-medicating.
>> What happened a couple days
before Christmas?
>> I snuck out and drank
alcohol, and then I slept
at a boy's house.
>> She started experimenting
with marijuana and alcohol.
Marah's turn to do the star!
I always kinda kept a close eye.
I was looking under the bed.
Are there bottles?
I don't know, I was always
looking.
Careful, don't fall on the tree.
I think I was making her bed or
something and I found a locket,
and I opened it.
I thought, "Oh, this is
interesting."
And out poured white powder.
It was cocaine.
>> NARRATOR: They found a highly
regarded treatment center out of
state that cost them $40,000
out of pocket.
The program they chose followed
a model of strict abstinence.
Marah spent 90 days in intensive
rehab, three times longer than
the average patient's stay.
>> We didn't think 90 days was
going to be long enough, but we
chose the best place we thought
we could for her, where she'd
have the best chance of success.
>> ♪ Happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you... ♪
>> She was clean for a while.
She looked good.
She looked healthy.
She seemed determined
to live more responsibly.
And for a long time, she did
pretty well.
But this is the thing about
treatment: it's not a magic
bullet.
>> NARRATOR: The program
didn't work.
A few months after Marah
got out, she started using
OxyContin.
Her mother found out after Marah
was caught stealing pills.
But that was only the beginning.
One day, Marah's father got
a call.
>> I was at work one day, and I
had one of her friends' fathers
calling me frantically, and he
said, "My daughter and your
daughter were using heroin."
>> She was a junior in high
school, and she was caught
in the bathroom cooking heroin.
And I was like, "Oh my God."
I had no idea it had gone
to heroin.
So when we talked to her
about it, she didn't deny it.
She goes, "I'm in trouble.
I need help."
And she says, "Can I go
to detox tonight?"
>> NARRATOR: After another 30
days in rehab, Marah came out
finally ready to embrace
sobriety.
She went to AA meetings
regularly, worked hard at
school, and delighted her family
when she finally graduated
from high school.
>> I'm Marah.
First off, I gotta thank you
guys.
I definitely wouldn't be here
without you, and you guys
gave me a fourth chance.
And I'm really, really,
incredibly grateful to you guys.
Thank you.
And my beautiful family.
Look at all of them hanging out.
I love you guys.
(applause)
Thanks for showing up, guys.
I'm sorry about all the crap
I put you through.
>> Marah Williams.
(applause)
>> NARRATOR: At one of her
AA meetings, she met someone.
>> She just kinda knocked me off
my feet when I first saw her,
you know?
She just had this thing about
her that some people have,
and she was able to get through
my barriers, you know?
>> NARRATOR: Jordan Zulauf was
just back from his third tour
in Iraq and was trying to kick
his addiction to heroin.
>> We're both into metal music,
punk music, you know, activism.
We're just really like-minded
in that way, and just kind of
goofballs together.
We just had a good time.
We were both sober and living
that life.
It was at the forefront of our
relationship and what we did.
A lot of it was based around
that, being sober and being
healthy and proactive.
>> They were both in AA.
They were working their AA
program together, going
religiously, working the 12
steps.
She'd say, "I really like
sobriety.
I like the way I feel.
I can't believe how clean
and clear my brain is."
She was just doing a great,
great job.
She was doing a great job.
>> NARRATOR: But heroin is
considered one of the most
addictive drugs.
Up to 60% of addicts relapse in
the first year after treatment.
Marah managed to stay off
for a year and a half.
>> Penny told me, she's like,
"I think Marah's using again."
I was like, "There's no way.
There's no way that can be
happening," you know?
I didn't believe it.
And then I asked her, and she's
like, "Yeah, I did once,"
you know what I mean?
But I'm like, "But you're not
continuing to do that.
You're gonna get help and we're
gonna deal with this, right?"
>> NARRATOR: Six months later,
Marah was dead.
>> Found the needle in the sink,
the water running, and her dead
on the floor.
Had to have happened really
fast.
>> She was clean for a long
time, you know, and that's
what happens.
You pick up again and take a hot
shot and that's that, you know?
It's too much, and you die.
It happens all the time,
you know?
She was an amazing girl.
I love her very much.
>> How do you remember her?
>> Um...
As a big part of my soul
and my heart.
She's always there, you know?
Yeah.
And a grenade, you know?
(laughs)
She was an explosive person,
you know?
>> Long-time Seattle media
figure Penny LeGate did
everything she could to help her
daughter break the grip of
heroin.
>> A former local high school
football player who became
addicted to heroin.
>> Another local family buried
a teenage daughter today,
another heroin overdose.
>> Her son was an eagle scout
on a pre-med scholarship.
>> When people started to
overdose, the group that got hit
pretty hard were young people.
College kids, white kids,
high school kids.
Kids in suburbs were dying
of this, not the sort of
stereotypical heroin user.
>> Always at the top of her
class, she became addicted to
heroin.
>> Two young people found dead
of an overdose.
>> NARRATOR: 90% of new heroin
users are white.
A rising number are middle-class
or wealthy.
>> Because the stereotypes turn
out to be so very important to
people's attitudes towards drug
use and the war on drugs
and drug users, this has been
a really huge development.
>> Drug addiction is an
epidemic, and it is taking too
many of our young people.
>> We have a huge problem,
and I think the big reason is
because we're not treating it
like the disease that it is.
>> It's been true throughout
American history that when drugs
penetrate into the middle class,
particularly the white middle
class, politicians panic much
more than they do when the drugs
are concentrated in poor
neighborhoods.
And it's not fair, and it's not
right, but that's the kind of
country that we're living in.
>> We need much more in the way
of treatment.
>> It's heartening for me to
see how this nation has reacted
to the heroin problem we're now
seeing around the country,
where we are coming up with
public health responses to it
and dealing with the underlying
problems that caused that
addiction in the first place.
>> SMITH: Not to be too glib,
but isn't that because a lot of
white kids are doing heroin?
>> I mean, I think that's
certainly a factor, you know...
>> SMITH: Richard Pryor said
about cocaine that it's an
epidemic now because white
people are doing it.
>> Well, you know, when things
seep into the majority
community, the nation pays a
greater amount of attention than
when it is confined to minority
communities.
And so yeah, there's an element
of truth, there's an element
of truth to that.
>> NARRATOR: One
community hit hard by this
new heroin epidemic
gripping the nation is a
short ferry ride from Seattle.
Bremerton.
The kind of place where
the epidemic took hold early on.
A working-class town, home
to 40,000 residents, a Navy
shipyard, and a mayor who
decided to try a different 
approach to the epidemic.
>> Make sure it doesn't become
an eyesore.
>> NARRATOR: It all began when
Mayor Patty Lent recieved some
alarming news. The towns
bathrooms
were clogging up with used
needles.
>> We had to install sharps
containers at all of our public
buildings.
We're trying to keep those
syringes from getting into our
parks, on our streets,
and in our landfill.
>> It was like a wave of heroin.
I mean, we just started to see
it wash over this county.
>> You couldn't walk down
streets in Bremerton without
finding hypodermic needles
laying in the gutters and laying
in the parks and on the
children's equipment, and it was
kind of shocking for everybody.
It used to be nobody knew
somebody that was on heroin.
Then all of a sudden, I knew
50 people that had an issue with
heroin.
>> NARRATOR: Trevor Mercer, a
Bremerton native, says he began
using painkillers when he was
18 and moved to heroin because
it was that much stronger.
>> When I first started doing
heroin, I was already taking
pills, and I knew it was the
same thing.
An opiate is an opiate,
you know?
I was just smoking it at first.
It wasn't until I injected it
that I realized why heroin is
"better" than taking a pill.
And by better, I mean worse.
Five to ten minutes I'll be
leaving here.
>> NARRATOR: But when his
girlfriend got pregnant with
their first child, he decided he
needed to find a way out.
He had already tried to quit
and it hadn't worked.
>> I went through the 12-step
program and everything like
that.
It's just not worked for me.
So I knew I needed to do
something because I certainly
couldn't take care of myself.
How am I supposed to take care
of somebody else?
And getting on the methadone
clinic kind of just fell into my
lap, and so I figured I'd give
it a shot.
>> NARRATOR: But finding
a nearby methadone clinic
was another story.
Trevor would have to wake up at
3:45 a.m. to drive to the
nearest clinic and get back
to work by 7:30.
>> The thing with methadone is
you take it once a day, instead
of doing heroin, like, five
or six times a day.
It's certainly worked in my
favor ever since.
It has been a long time since
I've even seen a syringe.
>> NARRATOR: Methadone is
a tightly restricted drug.
It was originally formulated as
a painkiller, but it was
embraced in the 1970s as an
effective way to treat heroin
users in withdrawal.
>> Every physician can prescribe
methadone for pain.
They cannot prescribe it
for addiction medicine.
That's what methadone clinics
can do.
The concept is, if you walk into
a methadone clinic, you get your
dose for the day so you don't
go into withdrawal.
You can go to work, you can
achieve your daily functions,
and you're not out doing things
like stealing or prostitution
of yourself just to earn
the next hit.
>> NARRATOR: Scott Lindquist was
the head of public health for
Kitsap County.
Alarmed by the growing epidemic,
he approached the mayor about
starting a clinic.
>> He told me that people were
living normal lives by having
a treatment that they had to go
in and have it administered.
He said it was anyone that had
a normal life that had gone
through an addiction to heroin.
I think I didn't realize how
much controversy would be
generated.
I didn't look at any other
unintended consequences.
So we moved forward in that
capacity.
>> NARRATOR: Robert Parker, who
owned a shop in the area, woke
up one morning to the headline
in the local paper.
>> "Methadone Clinic Coming to
Bremerton."
And I went, "What?
Wait a minute, we can't put in
a facility that's selling meth
or giving meth out."
>> NARRATOR: Josh Farley,
a reporter at the Kitsap Sun,
wrote the article.
>> For a lot of people, it's
really hard to wrap your mind
around words like "opiate" and
"methadone maintenance."
And then the very base of the
word "methadone" I think
probably confused some people
thinking that it's
methamphetamine.
>> And then the telephone
starting ringing, my email,
people coming to my office,
and they were there in droves.
>> NARRATOR: The most vocal
were shop owners next to the
proposed site.
One day, the owner of a gas
station approached Robert
Parker.
>> He said, "Look."
He said, "They're not telling
you the truth."
He said, "I own two gas stations
in Seattle, they're right next
to methadone clinics."
He said, "These things are
destroying our neighborhoods
over there, and the police can't
get it under control right now."
He said, "I invite you to come
over to Seattle for a day," and
he says, "And let's go visit."
And I did, and I spent the
entire day photographing what
was happening.
We had a lot of drug-addicted
people that were just kind of
hanging out.
There were taxis coming from all
over the region at the
taxpayers' expense.
It was absolutely shocking.
>> Good evening, City Council.
Good evening, Mayor Lent.
>> NARRATOR: When the City
Council held hearings to discuss
the matter, dozens of people
came to express one idea: not in
my backyard.
>> I come before you tonight to
stand strongly opposed for this
methadone clinic coming in.
>> My main concern is the
safety.
>> Loitering, theft, vehicle
prowl.
>> They came to all the council
meetings and they said not just
"Not in my backyard," but
"This is the worst place that
you could ever have a methadone
clinic."
>> I don't lack empathy for
people that need treatment, but
I am concerned about the impact.
>> Bars on my windows, and more
security.
>> Fear trumps science most of
the time.
And it's easy to be scientific,
but when you're scared, how easy
is it, really, to listen to
that science?
>> Good evening.
Welcome to the Bremerton City
Council meeting.
>> NARRATOR: And it went on
for months.
Even the location, in
Bremerton's red light district,
was not acceptable to the
community.
>> I would not put it in the
middle of a problem area where
you have easy access to drugs,
prostitution, bars...
>> I thought it was kind of
funny because we're talking
about a block with sex shops,
porno theaters, you know,
late night bars.
But I also wanted to say that,
you know, I'm a human,
and I'm normal enough.
I have a family.
I do probably the same stuff
they do.
>> Any more comments?
Anybody really feel the need...
>> NARRATOR: Trevor Mercer felt
compelled to testify.
>> Hi, my name is Trevor Mercer.
Ever since I've been on
methadone, I've come farther
in life.
I own my own home,
I raise my son.
I don't have any issues anymore
as far as going backwards.
Methadone treatment is what
helped.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Mercer.
>> NARRATOR: But the loudest
voice against the clinic was
having second thoughts by the
time he testified.
>> When the thing hit the front
paper, I was upset, and
admittedly now, I didn't
understand the whole issue.
>> NARRATOR: Robert Parker was
dealing with a crisis in his own
home.
His son was slipping into drug
addiction.
>> It tore through our family.
The first few times, we went
running down to the jail, paid
whatever the bail was.
But it got worse, and he slid
down further, and finally,
when we wouldn't bail him out
anymore, we lost him.
He quit communicating with us
completely.
I was extremely conflicted
about the clinic.
I had my son, and at that point,
I knew that he may be one of
the patients that needed it.
>> I will call to order the
special meeting of the Bremerton
City Council.
>> NARRATOR: Despite his
reservations, it was too late.
The long campaign against the
clinic had swayed Bremerton's
Council.
In 2011, the council put a halt
to the methadone clinic.
Meanwhile, the epidemic
continued to spread.
>> The epidemic today is so much
greater than it was back then.
The degree today that we have
drug addiction is more than I
ever anticipated.
>> You have people who are
hooked and they have no option
for treatment.
Like in many communities, we see
the same people go in and out
of jail.
There is little that we seem
to do as a society to eliminate
that revolving door.
And I see people who have died
because of this.
>> There was a cost to that
fight.
We lost the methadone clinic,
which this community needs.
What we didn't have, and we got
the hard way, was the education
along the line.
And it's been a hard lesson
for all of us.
>> NARRATOR: Since the city
council decided against the
methadone clinic, more than 40
people have died of overdoses
in Kitsap County.
>> There are nearly 200,000
inmates in federal prisons, and
almost half are drug offenders.
>> The vast majority non-violent
offenders sentenced for drug
crimes.
>> That's one in 110 adults
behind bars.
>> NARRATOR: For many heroin
addicts, rehab begins not in a
methadone clinic, but in a
county courthouse.
One in three people referred to
drug treatment come in through
the criminal justice system.
>> Judge, Mr. Green is in
custody.
The state has no objection...
>> NARRATOR: Drug courts first
appeared in the 1980s as a way
to divert low-level drug
offenders away from jail and
into treatment.
The idea caught on.
>> Three months in a row, the
defendant has come into contact
with law enforcement with his
drug use.
>> We have a system that
identifies the drug use as
a problem and that requires them
to stop.
And drug courts do a wonderful
job.
You don't just refer them
to treatment, you require them
to go to treatment.
You gotta use that stick
to get people in there
and get them to stay there
so they get well.
>> Mr. Holmes is here to ask
for another chance.
>> NARRATOR: The program is
designed to closely supervise
participants who must submit to
weekly drug tests and intensive
drug therapy for at least 12
months.
>> So here's the situation,
though...
>> NARRATOR: In this courthouse
in Seattle, defendants must
waive their right to a trial if
they want to participate in drug
court.
If they fail the program,
they're at the mercy of the
court.
>> If you are not successful
with the program, you've given
the court the right to find you
guilty of the charge beyond a
reasonable doubt.
>> Now, their other choice is
prison, so I mean, they're kinda
between a rock and a hard place.
They have given up their right
to challenge the evidence.
All that happens is the judge
reads the police report and then
sentences them to the crime.
>> We're all in agreement
on giving Mr. Hassan
another chance here...
>> NARRATOR: If they graduate,
the charge is dropped.
>> Drug courts represent,
in some ways, a violation
of fundamental human rights
in that people must essentially
plead guilty and give up their
due process rights in order to
participate in drug court.
>> You are looking at prison.
You can't say, "Gee, I want
to change my mind."
>> But drug courts also
represent innovation,
experimentation, practicality.
They represent the attempt of
people who are right there on
the street facing the problem
every day to do something
different, not to just keep
repeating the same mistakes.
To treat people as individuals.
>> NARRATOR: In the fall of
2014, 17 years into her
addiction, Cari Creasia
found herself in drug court.
>> Your Honor, this is Ms.
Creasia, and she's represented
by Ms. Vargas.
>> NARRATOR: She was offered
a choice.
She could either face trial
or agree to the conditions
of the court.
>> They said, "We can mainstream
your case, but we can tell you
right now, you're going to do
one to two years at the very
least for this crime."
>> You need to attend an
empowerment class.
>> Okay.
>> Either one.
>> Okay, I'll take care of that.
>> NARRATOR: It was the second
time she had been in trouble
with the law.
For four months, she had been
running drugs to support her
habit.
>> There's all kinds of ways
that people get what they need.
I would run drugs, and I
eventually was selling it in
large quantities.
As I became a trusted part
of this network, I graduated
to that level.
>> Were you part of a drug
cartel?
>> I imagine I was.
The individual that I dealt
with was dealing directly with
individuals that were part
of a drug cartel.
>> NARRATOR: She was an ideal
distributor: an unassuming
housewife from the suburbs.
>> I was selling half-ounces,
ounces to people who would in
turn go sell the smaller sacks
to their customers.
I built a reputation.
"She's the lady that has
the good stuff.
She's really nice.
She shows up on time.
She puts smiley face stickers
on her baggies."
That was me.
>> NARRATOR: But a narcotics
unit had been watching.
Cari had twice sold heroin to a
confidential informant, giving
prosecutors all the evidence
they needed.
Facing certain conviction,
Cari decided to opt in.
>> They explained what they
could do for me, and that I had
an opportunity to get clean
and sober.
And for some reason, something
just clicked inside of me.
And I told myself, "Take this
and run with it.
Do it.
They're gonna help you get
clean."
>> NARRATOR: At first, she
struggled with the program.
She was in withdrawal.
The court suggested she start
taking methadone.
>> If I dose at 6:30...
I think if I dose right at 6:30.
>> NARRATOR: But the nearest
clinic was 20 miles away.
Like Trevor Mercer in Bremerton,
she would have to commute a long
distance to get her dose.
>> That reminds me every day
what that heroin addiction
caused.
I have to go every day in order
not to use.
That's pretty serious.
And that's a message to me every
morning, that because of the
life that you led, because of
your addiction, this is what you
have to do.
And I never forget.
>> So yeah, Halloween's coming
up, and that is difficult.
And it's gonna be a lot of
triggers, because I've always
used and gotten messed up on
Halloween, so what we're
planning on doing is, we're
going to have a group of friends
who are all sober, all in
treatment and stuff, and we're
just going to hang out...
>> NARRATOR: The court mandated
that Cari attend sober support
meetings three times a week.
>> Because depression can make
you want to use, too, so I'm
just saying...
>> I don't get to where I want
to use.
Like, my sobriety's too
important to me.
Like, I was a complete addict
piece of (bleep) for a decade
and a half, and you know,
I got 14 months clean.
I don't want to (bleep) that up
and go through that first 14
months again.
>> Why take chances on
something?
>> I don't think an addict
ever gets well.
It is a disease.
>> What I really wanted to do
all the time was get high.
>> You have to deal with the
substance abuse.
You have to get treatment.
You don't just put it down.
If it were that simple, there
wouldn't be an addiction
problem.
>> Most of my friends are dead,
gone, or in jail.
And it was just a wake-up call
for me, so it was a good
reminder of where I'm blessed
today, and I'm glad of where I
am today, so...
>> NARRATOR: For eight months,
Cari remained clean, her
graduation just months away.
>> If you graduate from drug
court, the charges are
dismissed.
And some people think that's
odd.
I don't.
I think if you prove that you
no longer want to lead a life
of crime, you deserve a second
chance.
>> Drug court, tremendous
believer in drug courts, saw
lives changed.
>> Nationwide, the number
of drug courts has doubled
in the last decade.
Studies have shown that they
save taxpayer money...
>> NARRATOR: Drug courts have
grown into a movement.
>> Anyone who knows drug courts,
well, they love them.
>> NARRATOR: Once a year,
judges, prosecutors, and court
administrators gather to cheer
their profession at a national
conference.
>> Drug courts have blazed the
trail for today's drug policy
and criminal justice reform,
and drug courts have literally
changed the lives...
>> NARRATOR: In the summer of
2015, the keynote address was
given by the White House's new
drug czar, Michael Botticelli.
>> 26 years ago, I would never
have dreamed I would be
standing in front of you today.
And it was a very wise judge who
offered me care and compassion,
along with accountability, that
led to my path to recovery.
As the result of a drunk driving
accident, I was offered a choice
by a judge.
And so I had the opportunity
at that point to get care and
treatment and was diverted away
from the criminal justice
system, and that's what I want
to see for everybody.
>> NARRATOR: Botticelli helped
make drug courts a priority
at the White House.
>> We've come to really
understand that our punitive,
largely punitive responses
to people with substance use
disorders is ineffective,
it's inhumane, and it's costly.
>> NARRATOR: Over at the Justice
Department, Attorney General
Eric Holder had also been
working on rethinking drug
enforcement. With its toll
on low-level offenders,
especially minorities.
>> I made a determination
early on that we had to make
some really fundamental shifts
in the way in which we were
approaching this whole struggle
with drugs.
We need to take some different
approaches, and it shouldn't
all be seen as just a criminal
justice problem.
It ought to be seen as a public
health issue.
>> NARRATOR: Drug courts were
high on Holder's agenda.
>> These programs give no one
a free pass.
They are strict, and they can be
extraordinarily difficult to get
through.
But for those who succeed,
there is the real prospect
of a productive future.
I wanted to try to highlight
alternatives to this emphasis
on incarceration.
And I found, you know, federal
judges and prosecutors, once
exposed to these alternatives,
all became enthusiastic.
>> NARRATOR: Holder's own
conversion happened years
before.
>> I had been a judge here
in Washington, D.C., in the late
'80s, early '90s, when the drug
wars were really at their most
intense, where I had these
mandatory minimum sentences
that I had to impose on people
who had drug problems, who were
selling, you know, a relatively
small amount of drugs in a
nonviolent way to support a
drug habit that they had
and who had to go to jail for
a five-year mandatory minimum
or a ten-year mandatory minimum.
And I didn't feel comfortable
doing it.
>> NARRATOR: As Attorney
General, Holder announced that
he would no longer support
mandatory minimums for low-level
drug crime.
>> Good morning.
>> Good morning, Your Honor.
>> How are you doing?
>> Good, how are you?
>> NARRATOR: Instead, he helped
steer nearly $100 million a year
toward the expansion of drug
courts.
>> I've said that in every
federal district within the next
five years, there ought to be
a drug court.
That ought to be a goal that we
set for ourselves as a nation.
>> You're looking at 20 to 60
months in prison.
>> NARRATOR: But critics say
drug courts can be harsh and
inflexible.
>> Your expectation is that the
defendant follow all the rules
and regulations of the King
County Jail.
>> Absolutely.
>> You have to obey.
Is that clear?
>> Yeah.
>> Drug courts represent
prohibition with a human face
and the idea that people have
to hit rock bottom and that drug
users can never change until,
you know, someone takes them by
the ear and pulls them towards
sobriety.
>> The problem with drug courts
is that they continue to think
there's a moral failing in the
individual and that somehow,
waking them up and shocking them
with the criminal justice
apparatus will create some level
of sobriety for that individual,
and it's just not realistic.
>> NARRATOR: Those with the
toughest addictions often drop
out.
While graduation rates vary from
county to county, about half of
participants fail to complete
the program.
Gailen, who is 24, was sent
to drug court in Seattle after
he was caught selling heroin
to an undercover officer.
He was charged with four counts
of delivery.
>> A lot of these people that
were roped in, they were addicts
who were just delivering enough
to feed their own addiction.
And I guess the question is,
who are we really looking for?
However, I know he would like
to address the court.
>> NARRATOR: When we met him,
Gailen was just beginning the
program.
Because of the severity of his
case, the court determined that
he needed 60 days of in-custody
drug treatment.
>> I wrote this in my room
when I was in jail.
Can I read it to you?
>> Okay.
>> NARRATOR: After spending two
months in custody, Gailen was
asking the court to grant him
a temporary release.
>> I want to address the court
to let everyone know I will be
mindful and responsible and
aware of my triggers.
Thank you, and sorry for wasting
your time.
>> Thank you, I appreciate that.
Mr. O'Leary?
>> Your Honor, the State
strongly disagrees with the
defense's request.
He is one point away from
looking at 60 to 120 months
if he picks up another point.
So I think he needs to stay
right where he is and finish his
business.
Thank you.
>> Can I say something?
>> Certainly.
>> I'm not going to use.
I can't.
I cannot screw up.
I know I'm one point away from
going to 60 or 120, but ten
years of my life isn't worth it.
It's not worth it.
>> I believe every single word
you just told me.
Truly.
I also know you have a disease.
This is a brain addiction.
I don't know what will happen
if I release you right now.
>> Okay.
>> I'm going to deny your
request because I'm not
willing...
>> NARRATOR: After completing
in-custody treatment, Gailen
was released.
But he relapsed and soon found
himself back behind bars.
He had given up on drug court
and was angry.
>> Drug court really tries to
scare you into taking any deal
because they want as many people
possible so they can be like,
"This is our success rate,
this is our flunk rate."
I mean, a lot of people are,
you know, a lot of people fail,
but everyone's not a failure,
you know?
>> NARRATOR: Gailen is one
of thousands cycling in and out
of jail.
Each time he's out, he goes
right back to using.
>> See this?
That right there, that's 350
bucks' worth.
This is some A-1 stuff right
here.
This'll make a lot of people
O.D.
All right, I need a cooker.
>> Drug court stood alone for 20
years as our one answer.
But it really doesn't answer the
question of the people who are
so addicted, who are homeless
and who are mentally ill, who
can't keep court appointments,
who we know are gonna fail drug
court.
>> I think it might be ready.
I think a lot of this is about
learning the realities of
addiction, and we don't have
a great understanding of that
within the criminal justice
system, but we're learning more
and more and more about the
human physiological reaction
to drugs and to drug addiction
and what it takes to get
somebody to do less harm
to themselves.
>> Look, I'm gonna show you
what I got.
>> A large majority of Americans
now agree that there has to be
a more compassionate way, and
at the bare minimum, a more
effective way of responding and
trying to stop what's happening.
>> (bleep) yeah.
Oh my God, good job.
>> And so the question, I think,
is what is the alternative?
What is the solution that we
offer people?
What can we do differently
from sending people to jail?
>> Another Massachusetts town
is trying a new approach
to reckoning with its growing
problem of drug dealing
and addiction.
>> In Indiana, health officials
are now offering a needle
exchange program...
>> 19 other police departments
across the country...
>> An innovative new program
that will offer rehab instead
of prison.
>> NARRATOR: Cities all over the
country are now starting to
embrace public health approaches
to the heroin problem.
>> As part of a pilot program,
heroin...
>> NARRATOR: Seattle had a head
start.
>> Okay now, we're coming up
to the major corner here.
This is what we call
"The Blade."
>> NARRATOR: The city has long
been known for its progressive
approach to drugs: for embracing
legal marijuana and for
exploring new policing models.
>> This particular corner right
here is the most prolific
drug dealing, drug using,
hand-to-hand exchange, drug
loitering corner in Seattle.
Just open-air drug trafficking.
You can clean it up, and you
can go back 20 minutes later
and it's filled.
It's just quicksand.
>> NARRATOR: Four years ago,
in the city's downtown core,
Seattle's police department
began an experiment which is
drawing national attention.
We spent a year following cops,
counselors, and addicts,
seeing how the program works.
>> Do me a favor while we're in
here, just keep your hands out
of your pockets, okay?
>> NARRATOR: It's known as Law
Enforcement Assisted Diversion,
or LEAD, and it stops just short
of decriminalizing drug use.
>> Have you ever heard of the
LEAD program?
So instead of taking you to jail
today for drug possession,
we're going to help you out.
You don't have a violent
history, so you are a perfect
candidate for the program.
>> So normally, we arrest
a person, we put them in jail.
With LEAD, we stop them
from what they're doing.
We take the drugs away from
them, we take the syringes or
the crack pipe away from them.
>> The crack cocaine is inside
a foil that's in there.
>> A LEAD counselor is contacted
at that time, and we take the
person back to the LEAD
counselor.
>> SMITH: Everybody who you find
shooting up heroin you put
in the LEAD program?
>> Nope.
>> SMITH: So, how does it work?
>> So, we have the discretion.
We are police officers.
If that person is committing
a violation or a crime, we can
arrest them and put them in jail
right now.
But the program, the philosophy
behind the program, is treatment
and assistance on demand,
and no incarceration.
>> Are you interested in medical
detox?
You can go into treatment.
Are you interested in a
methadone or Suboxone program?
What do you think would help
you?
>> NARRATOR: After enrolling new
participants, they go out
looking for clients they've
already enlisted to see how
they're doing.
There are now over 300 addicts
in the program.
>> Are we looking for Wade?
>> Yeah.
>> Okay, so I have a couple
people down here.
>> NARRATOR: Mikel Kowalcyk is
in charge of outreach for LEAD.
>> That is Felicia.
She was just in the office.
She's Christine's client.
She went to treatment.
I used to be a wine salesman,
and I got into some issues
myself with drugs and alcohol
and being arrested, and I had
an opportunity to turn my life
around.
I've been to jail.
I've looked at the police and
not had a good relationship,
and I've done drugs, and I get
how that works.
And I think that my personal
experiences help me with this
job.
I can relate to the clients.
If you see him, like, tell him
Mikel would really love to see
you.
>> I got your number, look.
>> How'd you get my number
on your hand?
>> It's on my wall.
>> You're awesome.
>> NARRATOR: Her immediate goal
is not to stop her clients from
using drugs, but to limit the
harmful behavior brought on
by their addiction.
>> The harm-reduction model is,
"People are going to use drugs.
Let's make it safe for them to
use drugs until they're ready
to do something different."
How long are you gonna stay
out here, man?
I thought you'd be done
by your birthday.
It's really that simple.
And that means if somebody is
shooting heroin every day
when we meet them, that's okay.
Not everybody is ready at that
moment to change their life.
>> Mikel wants to talk to you.
>> Yes, stop him.
>> NARRATOR: While LEAD doesn't
penalize clients who continue to
use, Mikel does offer incentives
to steer them towards treatment.
>> I talked to Lisa about your
housing.
They are willing to put you
on a 30-day contract.
You are going to have a curfew.
You are going to have to go to
meetings every day for 30 days.
Can you do that?
>> I can do that.
>> Why are you still down here
right now?
That makes me a little
concerned.
>> No, I just left the welfare
office early, I just left
the LEAD program today.
>> So you know I know what you
look like loaded, right?
>> Oh, no, no, no, no.
>> So if you're home by 9:00,
she'll work out your housing.
She could change her mind,
so I don't want you to lose
your housing.
>> All right, sounds like
a plan.
>> Okay, you go home?
>> Thank you, thank you.
>> SMITH: Somebody looking at
this from the outside would say,
"Wait a minute, you're allowing
them to continue to use.
That doesn't seem right."
>> So in my perspective,
and a social worker perspective,
is you can't make somebody
stop using.
So not allowing them to use
is absurd.
>> SMITH: People will say that
LEAD is taking away the stick
that is an essential part of
motivating somebody to get their
act together.
>> So they go to jail for 30
days, and when they're out,
they continue to use.
What interrupts that cycle?
Nothing.
>> SMITH: They're gonna continue
to use indefinitely?
>> They could.
>> SMITH: And they will never be
taken out of the program?
>> No, they will not.
Not for use.
>> SMITH: So they can continue
to use as long as they want.
>> Yes, it's their life.
The goal is to reduce overdose,
to reduce theft, nuisance,
trespassing, reduce recidivism.
So I know Chris is advocating
for you, even if you haven't
connected with him.
>> NARRATOR: Mikel says most
of her clients seemed to be
improving.
>> Fifteen clean.
>> How many?
>> Fifteen.
>> Oh my God!
>> Isn't that nice?
>> That is so awesome.
It doesn't mean that they're
completely clean and sober, but
they're doing better than they
were.
>> Yeah, you got color again.
Hey, Johnny.
>> Hey.
>> How's it going?
>> All right.
>> NARRATOR: Johnny Bousquet
was, for a time, one of Mikel's
greatest success stories.
>> How's things at the shelter?
>> Uh, it's fine.
>> What's fine look like?
>> I'm still there.
>> Okay.
>> I haven't gotten in any
fights.
>> Right.
>> I'm learning how to get stuff
stolen from me and not go nuts.
>> Johnny was my first client.
He came into the office
the day after his arrest,
and I sat in a room and did
all of his paperwork.
He said that he wanted to go
to treatment or methadone.
Those were his words.
And I said, "Well, which would
you rather do?"
And he said, "Whatever you can
get me in quicker."
And I made a phone call
and got him an assessment,
and literally five days later,
he went to treatment for 60
days, and then he stayed clean
for almost nine months.
A day is a miracle.
30 days is a miracle.
Eight months is a big deal.
>> NARRATOR: It was
Johnny's longest time clean
in a while
He then relapsed in December
2014, and got sober again
with the help of a medication
that blocks his cravings.
But the medication doesn't work
for meth, which was his new drug
of choice.
>> I wanted to look good for
this interview, and I don't look
nowhere near as good as I wanted
to look.
Meth makes you obsess about
stuff, so like, I'll be in the
bathroom here picking at my face
and I make it 15 times worse.
I don't come out until I look
like Frankenstein.
My addiction sort of makes
the decisions for me when I'm
actively in it.
I know that I don't wanna do
any drugs right now.
That's never my intent.
I kind of hate myself a little
bit for the situation I put
myself in.
>> NARRATOR: Four years ago,
Johnny led a very different
life.
On YouTube, there is still
a trace of that young musician
with an outsized ego and big
aspirations.
>> ♪ They're out to get you,
they're out to get me... ♪
I just used to radiate
this kind of can-do attitude,
that nothing can stop me.
1999 to 2012, it was the best
time of my life.
It's when my ex-wife and I
were still together.
I had about seven years
clean and sober at that time
and had just finished college,
and I was top producer
in the town.
>> NARRATOR: Things began to
fall apart when he started
doing hard drugs.
>> I always wake up really
confused, like, "Is this
happening for real?
Did I really go from that to
this?"
But it's pretty real.
Because as soon as I wake up,
I think about what my kids
might be wearing to school
and what my daughter's hair
smells like.
She'd always have this really
good, fluffy smelling hair.
And I think about what kind of
shoes my son has on and if he's
behaving at school.
I haven't seen my kids since
Christmas Eve 2012.
I haven't even been able to talk
to them, seen a picture of them,
heard how they're doing
or anything.
I'm kinda scared.
It's life or death for me,
and it's real.
I'm not saying that because
I want somebody to feel sorry
for me or something.
It's because I'm scared that...
(crying)
I'm gonna keep fighting.
>> Jennings is doing really
well, Christopher's doing
really well.
Thomas is not doing so well,
but he's still working on stuff
and he's claiming to go
to treatment.
John Bousquet goes back
to treatment tomorrow...
>> NARRATOR: Twice a month,
the LEAD team meets to discuss
how each client is progressing.
>> If he doesn't get services,
he's probably going to end up
dead because he's overdosing
all the time.
Even though he's a hardcore
heroin addict, he mixes anything
he can get.
>> I think we are doing things
differently in a really big way.
We all meet at the same table--
case managers, social workers,
law enforcement,
the prosecutor's office--
and I think it allows us
to do our work better.
>> Anything you can do for
Andre, because from what I
understand, he's out there
chronically.
I would prefer to see him get
the treatment he needs...
>> NARRATOR: They brainstorm
ways to help clients access
services, and they compare
notes.
>> Now he's facing jail time for
this warrant that he got picked
up on that nobody really knew
about, so of course he
relapsed...
>> The hardest thing about LEAD
is that the philosophy behind
LEAD is "let them be on their
own timetable," which is
frustrating for a cop.
Greatest thing about being a
cop, greatest thing about being
a parole officer, you can solve
that problem right now.
Boom, you're in handcuffs,
you're in jail.
It's nice and clean.
LEAD's not clean.
LEAD's gray.
LEAD is about, "We have to have
a conversation about him," and,
"We have to give him another
chance," and that's frustrating.
>> She just doesn't like the
police.
Like, it's not about you as a
person, she just doesn't like
the police, and she's not gonna,
like, warm up about it.
She's not gonna be warm
and fuzzy.
Like, her life experiences,
she's not gonna play nice
with anyone she doesn't trust.
But for her, I think it's the
first real program she's ever
been in since she got out of
prison in 1994, so...
>> NARRATOR: Devin Majkut
has over thirty clients.
Her newest is 20-year-old
Kristina Block.
Kristina was interested in what
the program could do for her,
including help erasing pending
drug charges.
>> Some of the sheriffs were
concerned about her.
They could tell that she had
an active addiction.
They knew that she was involved
in some, you know, "illegal"
activities in the last year.
And she had had a pending case
on an arrest from December,
and instead of filing that case,
they referred her for the
program.
>> NARRATOR: We followed her
to her intake session.
>> Hey.
>> Hi.
>> I'm Devin.
>> Hi, nice to meet you.
>> Nice to meet you, come on in.
Okay, you know you have
a pending charge right now.
>> Yeah.
>> Okay, so when you complete
this assessment, the court will
not file that charge, okay?
Which is a felony charge.
>> Right.
>> So that's great.
Feel free today to just share
as much as you feel comfortable
with.
You could mess up a thousand
times and the door here would
still be open.
The goal that we have for you
is that your quality of life
increases, that you just feel
happier and healthier overall,
whether you continue to use
or not, and that you have less
interaction with the police...
Our role is to take
an individual and to meet them
exactly where they are.
To say, "Well, you have to get
clean in order for me to provide
you services" is probably gonna
mean that person doesn't get
services.
And so for us, we start with
the relationship building.
So where typically can we find
you?
>> At the Blade.
>> The Blade, okay.
>> Anywhere downtown.
>> Where do you get your money
from now that you're not
working?
>> Any way that I can.
>> Okay, like, are you hustling?
Are you dealing?
Are you borrowing from people?
>> I sometimes deal.
I sometimes do dates.
Um, I steal, I boost.
>> And about how much money
would you say you're making
a week right now?
>> Maybe, like, a thousand?
It's pretty crappy right now.
>> And is most of your money
going towards your use?
>> All of it goes to dope.
>> Okay.
Are you interested in treatment
right now?
>> I'm not sure if I'm ready,
like, right this second.
>> I hear that.
>> Um...
(sniffling)
I really would like to be ready.
>> Okay.
>> I just feel really, like,
overwhelmed with the thought of
treatment, and I just feel like
I need some time.
>> Okay.
When you are or if you are
ever ready for treatment,
I'll bust ass to get you into
somewhere that feels good.
>> NARRATOR: Kristina has been
living on these streets for the
past three years.
It's a hard turn from her
childhood in a middle-class
neighborhood in Seattle.
It was here that her addiction
began while she was still a
teenager.
>> I had been smoking every
single night, sneaking out and
being out all night smoking the
bubble, like all night, like,
in a stolen car.
Breaking into cars, breaking
into houses with these junkies,
you know, at 17 on a school
night.
And then I'd go to school
and I'd go to the bathroom,
sit on the toilet, and do drugs
until it was 6:00 at night,
and then go home.
>> NARRATOR: Her father says he
was slow to pick up on the
signs that there was an addict
in the house.
>> It was a little bit of a
shock when I first found out
about it because I thought,
you know, "This is not supposed
to happen to us."
I felt that we had been very
honest with her about drug use.
Sometimes I wonder, you know,
"Should I have had more
conversations with her?"
Or was I assuming that she was
smart enough to know better?
>> My dad has begged me
to get clean so many times.
He's, like, cried so many times.
I've just totally shattered
every dream and hope that he's
had.
But I do really want to believe
that I'm capable of doing
a whole lot more than just
what I'm doing right now.
I'm really excited about LEAD.
I'm hopeful, I guess.
Most programs are kind of, like,
you need to reach a certain
point, and if you fail, you
kind of get penalized and you
get set back.
With LEAD, it's kind of like
on your own terms, and I could
(bleep) up a thousand times and
still have the opportunity
to get help.
>> Thank you.
>> Appreciate it.
>> Do you have that lighter?
Do I have it?
I have it... I don't have it.
I don't plan on being like this
forever.
Like, I want things in life,
you know?
I want to go to beauty school,
and that's something that the
LEAD program is probably going
to help me with.
The lady told me that, um,
they'll help with housing
and treatment and funding to go
to beauty school and stuff.
Thank God.
>> Because of the rampant
outdoor drug use and crime
throughout downtown Seattle...
>> NARRATOR: LEAD began as a way
to deal with drug crime on the
streets.
>> Police here are cracking down
on crack dealers.
>> NARRATOR: Its origins go back
to the crack epidemic of the
1990s.
>> The downtown area was
infested with drug users, pill
sellers-- shoplifters,
individuals who were out there
to buy stolen items.
And many of the citizens were
just tired.
>> Drug dealers hawking their
wares on a street corner.
This scene on a Seattle street
is a familiar one...
>> At any given time, you could
literally see 50 or 60 people
smoking crack or doing
hand-to-hand exchanges.
>> SMITH: But there was a war on
drugs in the sense that we took
a militarized approach to
busting people that were using
drugs.
>> Yup, yup, we did.
If you're using open-air, drug
trafficking, or you're using
drugs in public, you're going to
get charged.
>> Sweeping arrests all over
Seattle.
Street sales of cocaine,
crack...
>> NARRATOR: The problem was
that, in a predominantly white
city, most of those arrested
were black.
>> This block right here has
always been a hot spot.
>> NARRATOR: A hard charging
public defender accused the
police of racial bias.
Lisa Dugard
>> SMITH: There was a lot of
hostility towards you coming
from the police-- a lot of beat
cops. 
>> I think that's an
understatement.
(laughs)
>> SMITH: A lot of beat cops
didn't like you.
>> A lot of everyone throughout
the hierarchy didn't like me.
>> Open up!
Open your mouth!
>> The police in Seattle are
facing racially charged
criticism.
>> Now spit out the dope.
>> A new study claims officers
are four times more likely to
arrest black dealers than
white.
>> NARRATOR: The tension
escalated as Lisa Daugaard
argued her case.
>> We're talking about hundreds
if not thousands of cases that
these officers have been
involved in that could be...
>> We were in the middle of this
seemingly endless round of
litigation.
And one day we just sat down--
Lisa and I and a police
lieutenant from the Seattle
Police Department.
And she said, "Well, we just
want the police to have another
option to take somebody to
treatment."
And that's when the Seattle
Police lieutenant said, "Well,
that's what we want, too."
And by putting down the law
books and sitting down and
looking at each other, we
realized that we could work
together and accomplish a lot
that the courts could not fix
this problem.
>> We're also looking at to
point some of our resources
elsewhere.
>> NARRATOR: For several years,
the prosecutor, the police, and
the public defender debated
possible solutions.
>> ...involve different members
of the community to help us, you
know, drive the crime rate down.
>> NARRATOR: It all came
together when they agreed on one
thing: that police should be
given more options at the point
of arrest.
>> There are going to be crimes,
and that means that the police
are going to be there one way or
another, and we had to figure
out how working from that point
of contact, everything could
turn out very differently.
>> Any weapons?
>> No.
>> Any drugs?
>> This was the first program
that actually said, "No, we're
going to start with a law
enforcement led program that
intervenes at the time of
arrest."
>> They'll explain it to you.
>> We're not going to put people
through the entire system and
spend all of the resources to
prosecute them.
We're going to try to move the
intervention back a little bit
on that timeline and try to see
if we don't get better outcomes.
> Come on.
>> SMITH: So to those who look
at the LEAD program and say,
"What are they doing?
They're decriminalizing the use
of heroin, and meth, and crack
cocaine?"
>> What LEAD has done is to turn
the moment of arrest into an
intervention.
It has shown us another way for
people who are severely
addicted, who could use some
help that giving them that help
actually makes the community
safer, and it's more effective,
and it's cheaper than just going
in and arresting people.
>> SMITH: But you spent your
whole career being a prosecutor,
enforcing the law, putting
people away.
And suddenly you're gonna say,
"No, no, no, that was all
wrong."
It is a big switch.
>> There's an old saying that
just because wisdom is slow to
arrive doesn't mean you should
reject it when it does.
>> NARRATOR: LEAD was officially
rolled out in 2011.
And an unprecedented experiment
in American drug policy was
born.
>> Police and the FBI are
calling it one of the city's
biggest drug busts ever.
>> 200 undercover buys.
Heroin, meth and cocaine, taken
off the street.
And dozens of suspects arrested.
However, many may never see the
inside of a prison.
Instead, a bulk of these
suspects will be allowed to
enter a crime diversion program,
where they'll receive drug
treatment and opportunities for
things like housing, rather than
a felony conviction.
>> NARRATOR: It wasn't long
before the program was in the
national spotlight.
>> A University of Washington
study found that LEAD has been
remarkably successful...
>> Showing a drop in repeat
offenses from people who enter
the LEAD program.
>> NARRATOR: It was also being
replicated across the country.
>> Santa Fe's three-year pilot
program...
>> It's known as LEAD, and
Albany is just the third city in
the country...
>> NARRATOR: Washington, D.C.,
took notice.
In July 2015, the team was
invited to the capitol to talk
about the lessons of their
four-year experiment.
>> It's been a remarkable day
and I first of all need to do a
shout-out to my favorite public
defender, Lisa Daugaard.
I think that we created a lot of
momentum.
We got a lot of people excited
about it, and I could sense that
the administration wants to use
their last 18 months or so as a
way to shine a spotlight on
criminal justice reform issues.
>> And the reason we know it
works is because people come
into my office every day and
say, "Officer Mills, I have
cocaine in my pocket.
Will you please arrest me and
put me in your program?"
>> Fundamentally, it is a
program in which individuals...
>> NARRATOR: They also shared
the results of a study produced
by the University of
Washington, which found that
LEAD participants have a 58%
lower likelihood of being
arrested than addicts outside of
the program.
>> LEAD participants do
shoplift.
Some LEAD participants do engage
in other low-level property
crime, and occasionally in
serious crime.
It's just that they do that a
lot less frequently than people
who are not in LEAD who started
out in the same situation.
>> SMITH: And that's what the
University of Washington study
showed?
>> Yes.
>> NARRATOR: But does LEAD help
participants reduce their drug
use?
A new study will soon be 
released.
>> Hello.
>> Hi.
>> NARRATOR: We came back to
Seattle
>> How are you?
>> NARRATOR: Kristina was three
months into the program.
She wasn't taking advantage of
LEAD's services and had missed
most of her appointments with
her case manager.
>> Six, eight, ten, 12, 14, 16.
Can I just get like two bags?
Right now, I think I'm kind of,
like, at a like standstill.
The reason why I'm not going to
treatment right now is because I
don't wanna let myself down and
everyone else down.
I'm always so busy, and hectic,
and sidetracked, and my mind's
in a million different places.
Yeah, but I mean I already gave
you guys like two bags.
Like I...
Like my parents ask me why I
don't put my all into getting
clean.
It's really not that I don't
want to.
It's really just that I'm not
there yet.
But you need to pay me back $20,
so that leaves you with $60.
>> NARRATOR: Her days were busy
dealing drugs.
She was still doing heroin and
relying on meth to keep her
going.
>> I'll give you as much as I
can for $60, okay?
Because I've got a few people
that need something.
 Hola.
>> NARRATOR: Kristina had met a
dealer who she said cut her a
good rate.
>> If I wasn't dealing, I'd
probably be living dime bag to
dime bag.
Like paycheck to paycheck, you
know?
>> NARRATOR: She was buying a
ball of heroin, about three
grams, and selling it at a
profit.
>> Hola.
>> NARRATOR: The money from the
sales allowed her to consume
even more drugs.
>> Gracias.
 Adios.
>> NARRATOR: Seeking treatment
was not a priority.
>> Hey Fro, how was it?
>> Good.
>> Do you think jail would be
the solution for you?
>> Literally, that like makes
me panic so bad that I would
probably have a heart attack.
Jail is the worst place on
Earth.
I wouldn't wish jail on my worst
enemy.
>> Have you ever called the cops
on her and said, "I'm just gonna
throw her in jail"?
>> I've wanted to lots, but
putting her in jail doesn't do
anything to treat her addiction.
It's a completely negative
experience.
She's not out harming people.
She's doing something that
people have decided is illegal,
and not a health issue.
And so she winds up being a
criminal, when she's not
actually a criminal.
The thing that the LEAD program
does for her is it keeps her
out of jail, basically.
But if you're not tackling the
root issue, then what are you
really accomplishing?
I can only kinda hope that she
finds a resource within herself
and pulls herself out of it.
It's been going on for a long
time.
They had a thing on NPR today
about some guy who's gone viral
'cause he went on his Facebook
and was talking about his
daughter that died at 24.
>> I'm not gonna die.
>> Well.
>> I'm not gonna die.
>> You can't guarantee...
>> Dad, I will not let this kill
me.
>> ...that something is
accidentally gonna happen to
you.
>> What is accidentally gonna
happen?
You can't live life thinking
like that.
You just can't.
I've never OD'ed.
>> Twice last year, she was
hospitalized with
life-threatening illnesses
directly related to her drug use
and was still getting high in
the hospital and then was
getting kicked out of the
hospital because she was using
in the hospital.
And I would've thought that
would be a wake-up call.
And that didn't get her to
change her behavior.
>> Why is she doing this?
>> I don't know that I fully
understand it.
All I can kinda do is love her
as much as I can and help her as
much as I can.
>> I will not find myself at 50,
you know, with a needle in my
arm.
No, you didn't.
We shared our rinses together.
(phone rings)
Oh (bleep), that's my case
manager.
I can't answer that right now.
I know everybody thinks
they're special, I know
everybody thinks they're
different.
And maybe it's just a lie
that I have to tell myself,
just to make myself feel better.
And I'm only 20.
Like, almost 21, so it's like,
how... like how...
(sighs)
Like, how much longer is it
gonna take?
And how many times more is it
gonna be until I actually get
it?
>> NARRATOR: Just outside
Washington, D.C., scientists at
the National Institute on Drug
Abuse are trying to understand
addictions like Kristina's.
>> SMITH: Kristina is addicted
to heroin.
What exactly is happening inside
her brain?
>> Heroin is among the most
addictive drugs.
That means that the probability
of someone becoming addicted to
it is much higher than the
probability of someone, for
example, getting exposed to
alcohol.
>> NARRATOR: Dr. Nora Volkow
says all addictions have a
strong genetic component.
>> 50% of our vulnerability to
become addicted is genetically
determined.
And the other 50% relates to
multiple factors, including the
age at which you start taking
the drugs or the alcohol.
The younger you are, the greater
the likelihood that you will
become addicted.
>> NARRATOR: Dr. Volkow believes
that, over time, exposure to
drugs like heroin disables the
part of the brain that regulates
impulse control.
>> All of these drugs will, with
repeated administration, erode
the function of the frontal
cortex.
The easiest metaphor is driving
a car without brakes.
You may very well want to stop.
If you don't have brakes, you
will not be able to do it.
>> SMITH: So you're saying that
the drug itself, the experience
of taking the drug, will damage
the brain.
>> With repeated exposure, yes.
>> SMITH: And I still don't
understand quite what's
happening in the brain, and I
suppose as scientists, you don't
fully understand.
>> That's what I'm going to say.
You know, you're not the only
one.
The brain is too complex.
We are starting to get a sense
of the major changes, but our
understanding of the human brain
is just at its very early
stages.
>> SMITH: If you ask most
people, I imagine that they
would say treatment doesn't work
because everybody has an
experience with somebody who has
been in and out of treatment
numerous times.
>> Correct.
I mean, and the problem is that
we have this magical thinking
about treatment.
You say you put someone into
treatment for one month and they
are going to be cured.
And that's why I make this
emphasis: we do not cure
addiction, we treat it.
(siren wailing)
>> NARRATOR: Johnny has
tried many different
kinds of treatment.
>> I've been in inpatient
treatment four times in the last
three years, and I don't know
what's going on.
And no matter how hard I try,
it's not going away.
I just wish that there was
something available to help me.
>> Okay, let me keep this until
you get out.
>> NARRATOR: Treatment is
hard to come by.
Again and again, Mikel has
struggled to find a place that
will take Johnny.
>> There's not enough beds for
people.
It's very difficult to get
somebody into detox.
So Johnny goes to inpatient
treatment on the 16th.
So it's just this hoping he
makes it to the 16th.
That's where we are right now.
>> He's in the middle of a
life-threatening moment.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> And he's gotta wait for 11
more days?
>> Yup.
And he's lucky he only has to
wait 11 more days.
Because there's a lot of people
that don't even have that bed
date.
I'll talk to Cathy.
Let's get you in treatment.
>> I have to just do it like a
minute at a time.
I have to do whatever I do
to get high, I have to do
that to be sober.
But more than anything, I don't
wanna go another day living like
this.
>> They are going to purchase
the bus ticket at the Greyhound.
>> NARRATOR: Johnny was finally
offered a spot on a rehab center
four hours by bus from Seattle.
>> So are you ready for this?
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah?
Feeling good about it?
>> I'm more than ready, I wish
it was today.
>> I know.
Hang in there, okay?
>> Okay.
>> Five days and a wake-up.
>> Yeah.
>> Right?
>> Yeah.
>> Okay.
Was that a smile?
It's really nice to see you
smiling.
>> I'll smile more.
>> Okay.
>> Thank you, Mikel.
>> You're welcome, Johnny.
Get something to eat, okay?
>> Yeah.
>> All right.
Got about 30 minutes until we
get there.
I'm excited, I'm hungry.
>> NARRATOR: Johnny made this
video on his way to the center.
>> I'm ready to take on the
world.
>> NARRATOR: But when he
arrived, he was told there was
no bed.
>> I'm kind of devastated and
pissed off.
I just want to get back to my
kids and to my music and back to
being me, because I don't know
who I am right now.
I just want to change.
>> SMITH: So he gets on the bus,
goes out there, and they say,
"Sorry."
>> "Sorry, we don't have a bed
for you."
And he hung in there.
But so much went wrong in that
timeframe.
>> SMITH: Do you feel that you
have enough resources to provide
your clients the services that
they need?
>> No, absolutely not.
>> SMITH: How sustainable is
LEAD, given those shortages?
>> That's a systemic issue.
We're there in the interim.
A lot of people don't make it
during that wait.
Hi, Shonta, this is Mikel.
I'm trying to confirm that a
client made it to class.
>> SMITH: So you're that bridge,
but it seems like if we're going
to as a society commit to a
program like LEAD, we've gotta
do a lot more to provide the
services that you're set up to
connect them with.
>> Absolutely.
It all starts with funding from
the top down.
>> SMITH: You have launched a
program that provides addicts
with services, but the services
aren't there.
>> Well, that's true, but it's
not a critique of LEAD.
Because even with those
limitations, we do better than
the alternative-- the
incarceration and prosecution
alternative.
>> SMITH: It may not be a
criticism of LEAD, but it is
saying that we're not there yet.
As one person put it, "We've put
a plane into the sky, but we
don't have a runway."
>> Well, the truth is you can't
divert people to nothing.
We have to divert folks who
otherwise are going to jail and
into the court system to a
robust public health system.
And most communities don't have
that yet.
>> The committee will come to
order.
This hearing today will examine
the scientific evidence treating
drug addiction and...
>> NARRATOR: Even if services
are available, there is a
shortage of quality care.
And very little information to
guide families.
>> Today, very few medical,
nursing, or pharmacy schools
provide even basic training in
addiction treatment.
>> NARRATOR: It's a reality that
President Obama's deputy drug
czar, Tom McLellan, experienced
firsthand.
>> SMITH: You'd had your own
personal tragedy.
You'd lost a son to a drug
overdose.
You had another son who was in
recovery by that time from a
drug addiction.
>> I had become an expert in the
addiction field.
And then my son became addicted.
And I had no idea what to do.
All that training, all that
knowledge about addiction did
not prepare me for the most
fundamental question of all.
Where do you send your kid for
treatment?
I didn't know the answer and
none of my expert friends knew
the answer.
And that changed my life.
I've been to easily 300
addiction treatment programs in
the United States over my
career, probably more.
I saw why lots of things that
sound so good in academic
circles and are so theoretically
compelling simply cannot work in
a real world setting.
Relapse rates are 50%.
Within 90 days typically of
discharge from treatment.
You're left with the conclusion
that either treatments don't
work or addicts can't be
treated.
>> NARRATOR: Dr. McLellan
believes that heroin addiction
should be treated like a chronic
illness with long-term
outpatient therapy and access to
methadone or newer medications,
like Suboxone.
But because those medications
are addictive, they're highly
restricted.
>> There's a real geographic
problem.
There are just whole stretches
in the country where clinics are
not readily available.
Methadone is tightly regulated,
it's confined to specific
authorized clinics, and given
under a very rigid system, and
you have to actually get to the
physical location.
It's not... every doctor can't
prescribe to those who need it.
>> SMITH: Old-style drug
warriors will say that giving a
person methadone is simply
replacing their heroin addiction
with another addiction.
>> As long as they're
against... also against giving
people insulin for diabetes,
which merely replaces one
chemical for another.
There are people who need
ongoing stimulation of, you
know, certain receptors in their
body to be healthy.
And giving them the medication
that does that is valid medical
treatment.
>> NARRATOR: Johnny is one of
those patients.
Last spring, after one of his
relapses, he found a primary
care doctor who was able to
prescribe Suboxone.
>> Hey, what's up, Dr. Capp?
>> How are you?
>> I'm good.
>> Good to see you.
>> The Suboxone blocks heroin.
So even if you wanna get high on
heroin, you won't be able to
because it has a blocker in it
that stops that.
And that's the main reason why I
got on it.
>> How you doing?
>> I'm doing good.
>> I don't think we should make
any move on the Suboxone dose.
I think you're stable on three a
day.
When I walk into these rooms,
I'll have someone next door
who's a 50-year-old, diabetes is
out of control, blood
pressure's through the roof.
And I'll go in and have a
discussion with them about,
"Boy, you know, I've got some
concerns here.
And this is what I see if we
don't make some changes."
And what I run up against all
the time is the ambivalence
around people wanting to change.
And I walk out of that room, and
I think, "I just don't know how
it's going to go for that
fella."
And I wash my hands and I walk
into the next room.
And there's Johnny.
And he wants to change.
I got all the time in the world
for that, because that takes
real steel.
And there's not anything he
wouldn't do to get better.
Just daily for two weeks and
then two caps daily.
>> NARRATOR: Suboxone
is significantly more expensive
than methadone, and it's
considered more effective.
But Dr. Capp can only prescribe
it to 100 patients per year.
>> I can only prescribe so much
Suboxone.
I'm limited by the federal
government on how many people
that I can follow at any given
time.
>> SMITH: Why?
>> It's a good question.
I think the DEA wanting to keep
a very close eye on prescribers
to make sure that prescribers
don't turn into pill mills where
medicine's not being used
appropriately.
>> SMITH: But let me understand
this.
We've had doctors and
pharmaceutical companies
promoting OxyContin and doctors
have been freely prescribing
OxyContin without any limitation
on how much they can prescribe.
>> The irony is not lost on
me.
I can prescribe enough OxyContin
to put half of this city to
sleep.
>> SMITH: Wait a minute.
You can prescribe as much
OxyContin as you want, but
you're limited by the DEA on how
much Suboxone you can prescribe.
>> That's right.
That's the current state of
affairs.
>> NARRATOR: Johnny credits the
drug for helping him in his
recovery.
>> Right here, it says, "Hey
Johnny, you've been clean and
sober since July 23, 2015."
Day-by-day.
That's 90 days.
Hour-by-hour.
That's 2,173 hours.
130,412 minutes.
7,824,729 seconds."
Yeah.
I did all of that.
One second.
One minute.
One hour at a time.
>> NARRATOR: Last August, Johnny
finally moved into his own room
in clean-and-sober housing paid
for by LEAD.
>> I definitely wouldn't have
this if I was still on drugs.
Not much.
But it's money.
And that's my son Johnny and my
daughter Leona.
And this is right when I first
started to use drugs.
Kinda sucks, actually.
It sucks a lot.
'Cause there's two kids out
there that probably wonder if I
love them or not.
I wonder if they love me or not.
I've been carrying this around
for three years.
I bought this for my son's third
birthday and I never got to see
him for that.
So I've been hoping that I could
give this to him sometime.
But he's six now, he's probably
not going to think it's very
cool.
But I've been saving it for him,
yeah.
I just have a higher quality of
life right now, even though I'm
nowhere where I wanna be.
I'm still at the bottom.
I'm a couple steps below the
bottom.
And I'm just trying to be a
normal person and reintegrate
myself back into society.
And it's hard because I'm
adjusting.
I want to get back to my kids.
>> Hey Kristina, it's Dev.
I'm hoping that we can meet up
tonight.
Can you give me a call as soon
as you get this?
Umm, yeah.
I wanna come by and see you so,
thank you.
If I don't hear from someone for
a while I usually go looking for
'em.
So I'm looking for Kristina.
I haven't seen her in person in
about two weeks.
And that's not abnormal, people
get really caught up in active
addiction and the street life
and time flies.
I mean, the time schedule that
they're on is really different.
Kristina?
Kristina, it's Dev.
(knocking)
>> NARRATOR: In October, we
found Devon still trying
to get Kristina to keep
her appointments.
>> The last time I saw her, she
was struggling a lot, and so
yeah, it's discouraging when you
go and look for people and you
can't find them.
Or you wonder, like, what
they're up to.
>> NARRATOR: After several hours
of searching, Kristina finally
resurfaced.
>> Hi.
>> Hey, how's it going?
>> It's okay.
>> No, it's really...
I've been on this rollercoaster
of trying to stay well every
day, you know.
And that seriously consumes
every waking, breathing,
functioning moment of my life
right now.
>> Right, and it's like becomes
overwhelming.
>> I haven't been to see you.
I got two more tickets now
because I haven't.
>> Okay.
(sobs)
So it's like totally consuming.
>> And it's really (bleep) cold
outside.
>> You've been sleeping out
here?
>> It's pouring rain every day
outside and it's freezing cold
and I'm sleeping on the sidewalk
and I don't have any money and
I'm like dope-sick every day
and I have like no way of
getting well, and it's kind of
like a point in my addiction
where that's like a repetitive
thing every day.
>> When's the last time you
stayed with your dad?
>> Several weeks.
>> Okay.
>> I don't want to completely
cut her off.
And that's just really hard to
do week after week, month after
month, year after year.
>> Can I request for you to hit
me up a little bit more?
>> Yup.
How often?
>> Like, whenever you think
about me.
>> You know, if somebody came up
to me and said, "This is what
works.
This is the way you need to do
it."
Then I would do that.
But right now there are people
that are chipping away at the
corners of it, trying to do
something, but there's no tool
for us.
>> Thank you, I love you.
Thank you so much.
>> NARRATOR: The CDC recently
released it's most current data
on the epidemic: another 14%
rise in overdose deaths from
heroin and other opioids.
>> SMITH: Any predictions on how
long it's gonna take for us to
turn the corner and start to see
a decrease in the number of
overdose deaths?
>> Well, it took 15 years for it
to get this bad.
I don't think it's gonna be
turned around in 15 months.
It depends on how quickly we
work, how intelligently we work,
how quickly doctors improve
prescribing patterns, and how
quickly communities establish
support systems for people with
addiction or at risk of
addiction, that decreases the
risk that they will get addicted
to and die from an addictive
substance.
>> NARRATOR: Earlier this month,
the Obama administration
requested more than a billion
dollars in new funding for
addiction treatment.
It is also considering relaxing
the rules on prescribing
medications like Suboxone.
>> Of all the things that
society has tried to reduce
addiction and the devastating
problems that occur...
They've tried punishments.
They've tried to legislate.
They've tried religion.
They've tried lots of things.
The best by far so far is
treatment.
We're gonna continue to pay the
price for thinking of this as a
lifestyle issue, a personality
disorder.
We're gonna pay that price for a
very long time because it's
standing in our way of medical
progress, of public health
progress.
This month, Cari was set to
graduate from drug court.
She had completed all the
requirements while dealing with
the terminal illness of her
partner of ten years.
But just days before her
graduation, her weekly drug test
came up positive for opioids.
Her graduation was postponed 
until June.
As for Johnny, A few weeks ago,
he got into trouble.
He overdosed on synthetic
marijuana and ended up in the
hospital.
He was kicked out of clean-and-
sober housing, 
 but he is still enrolled
in LEAD.
In December, Kristina was
hospitalized with a heart and
lung infection-- a result of her
intravenous drug use.
After several weeks in an
intensive care unit, she decided
it was finally time to quit.
>> I really don't want to use
again.
When you're on heroin, you're
just always sick, and if you're
sick, you can't do anything.
Methadone gives us the power to
be able to, like, live.
Kristina.
And 50 milligrams.
>> NARRATOR: She is dosing seven
times a week.
>> Here is your medication.
>> Thank you.
>> NARRATOR: The hospital found
her a spot in transitional
housing, where she is staying
while she continues to recover.
>> I've managed to make it out
of the hospital and stay here
and not use yet.
I think what sealed the deal for
good was the hospital stay.
Yeah, for sure.
I had two lung surgeries
back-to-back, so I was like...
It was a really bad time.
>> NARRATOR: But the temptation
to use is always there.
>> Now that I'm clean, I try to
spend most of my time away from
here because I'm so fragile
right now.
It's that addict brain and my
actual brain, just tug-of-war.
But right now my
clear-headedness is overtaking
the addict brain a little bit
more because I've seemed to stay
clean for this much time, right?
Devon and I were talking about
getting housing, like me saving
up for my own place, like me
getting into Oxford.
>> NARRATOR: For now, her father
drives her to the methadone
clinic.
>> I'm really familiar with
what's going to help me stay
clean, and so...
It feels really good to make my
dad smile, make my dad happy.
Yeah, it feels good.
>> I'm just... I'm like really
hopeful, but I'm trying not to
get my expectations up too high.
>> Because I've failed so many
times?
>> Yeah, I'd rather...
>> I know.
I'm sorry.
>> That's okay.
That's water under the bridge
now.
And someday we'll look back at
this as, you know, this thing we
can talk about in retrospect.
>> We'll see.
One day at a time.
>> Captioned 
at WGBH, access.wgbh.org
>> For more on this and other
 Frontline programs, visit our
website at pbs.org/frontline.
 Frontline's "Chasing Heroin" is
available on DVD.
To order, visit shoppbs.org,
or call 1-800-play-PBS.
 Frontline is also available for
download on iTunes.
