Chasing Heroin | Frontline PBS | Season 2016 Episode 4 | Length: 1 hr. 55 mins.
https://www.pbs.org/video/frontline-chasing-heroin/ (Links to an external site.)
About the Film | FRONTLINE looks at America’s heroin crisis in a fresh and provocative light — telling the stories of individual addicts, but also illuminating the epidemic’s years-in-the-making social context, deeply examining shifts in drug policy, and exploring what happens when addiction is treated like a public health issue, not a crime.
OPIOIDS, INC. | Frontline PBS | 6/23/2020 | 53m
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/opioids-inc/ (Links to an external site.)
About the Film | The story of a drug company that pushed opioids by bribing doctors and committing insurance fraud. With the Financial Times, FRONTLINE investigates how Insys Therapeutics profited from a fentanyl-based painkiller 50 times stronger than heroin.
Discussion Post | Please answer the following questions.
Based on the information in the Chasing Heroin film, construct an argument explaining the role Purdue Pharma played in legalizing opioid addictions in the U.S. Based on the information in the Opioid, INC film, construct an argument explaining the role Insys Therapeutics’ played in increasing opioid addictions in the U.S.. In your own words, explain the role each of the following played in increasing Insys Therapeutics’ profits from opioid sales: (1) speaker programs, (2) pill mills, (3) pharmaceutical representatives’ bonuses, (4) titration objectives, (5) “whales,” (6) Insys Therapeutics’ Insurance Reimbursement Center, and (7) Subsys addicts. Assess which aspects of the opioid corporate structure are deviant. Critically reflect on your assessments. (Base your answers on information from the films, write 1-2 paragraphs).
Define licit and illicit drug use in your own words. Explain the difference between opioid addictions resulting from licit drug use versus illicit drug use. Choose any theory or theories in the chapter to analyze the difference between licit versus illicit opioid addiction. Define the theory or theories in your own words. (Base your answers on information from the film and the book, write 1-2 paragraphs).
In your own words, define each of the four concepts making up Aker’s social learning approach: differential association, definitions, differential reinforcement, and imitation. Provide examples from the film for each concept that illustrate aspects of the illicit or licit opioid epidemic. (Base your answers on information from the film and the book, write 1-2 paragraphs).
Describe the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) phenomenon as seen in the Chasing Heroin film. Contrast the arguments for and against setting up treatment centers in communities. Express your thoughts drug treatment centers opening in your neighborhood. (Base your answers on information from the film, write 1-2 paragraphs).
Reflect on the opioid addiction epidemic. Describe what aspects resonate with you and what concerns you have for the future. Assess and explain which aspects of the epidemic are the most deviant in your mind. (1-2 paragraphs).
