Trump discussed the opioid epidemic and addiction treatment funding during the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit.
This week, the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit convened in Atlanta, Georgia. The annual summit (April 22-25) is attended by everyone who has a stake in the national drug crisis—people from the mental health field, law enforcement, health care, government, research and people in recovery.
Among this year’s speakers are James Carroll, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. President Barack Obama and Patrick Kennedy have also attended the conference in years past.
“Everyone here today is united by the same vital goal—to liberate our fellow Americans from the grip of drug addiction and to end the opioid crisis once and for all. It’s happening. It’s happening,” said Trump.
The president outlined his administration’s efforts to mitigate the crisis thus far.
“My administration is deploying every resource at our disposal to empower you, to support you and fight right by your side, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.
Trump cited the unprecedented amount of funding dedicated to fighting the opioid crisis under his administration—including a two-year plan to use $6 billion to fight opioid abuse—and didn’t hesitate to take credit for making “a tremendous amount of progress” in pushing back the deadly epidemic.
“We have results that are unbelievable. Numbers that I heard, two weeks ago, that I was shocked to hear. We’re making tremendous progress,” he said.
Naturally, the border wall was a highlight of Trump’s anti-drug plan. The president claimed that 90% of heroin is coming through the southern border, and said that construction is “probably ahead of schedule” on building “almost 400 miles of wall built by the end of next year.” The barrier will have a “tremendous impact on drugs coming into our country,” Trump promised. “You’re going to see some very, very big differences in the coming months.”
Another feature of his plan to mitigate the painful effects of drug abuse across the U.S. was negotiating “a very big trade deal” with China—where “almost all fentanyl” comes from, according to the president—to prevent the synthetic opioid from being shipped to the U.S.
In October 2017, Trump declared that the opioid crisis was a public health emergency.
While he has brought attention to the national opioid crisis, critics aren’t convinced that the government’s anti-drug efforts have actually made a dent.
It’s impossible to explain to someone who’s never had suicidal thoughts what it feels like to be in a space where the only option you think you have to end your suffering is death.
“See…it’s not that bad.” My friend was responding to a text with an image of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. It was the first road trip my husband and I took after moving to Houston. My friend was right, the Alamo wasn’t bad; but having to move back to the States after living in the UK for three years sucked. In all fairness, we were given a choice, and I was the one who pushed for Houston over New York. I wasn’t ready to return to the crowds and chaos of Manhattan, and due to the nature of my husband’s work, Houston made logistical sense.
“We’ll only be there for a year,” my husband assured me on our last night in London. “It’ll go by so fast.” I wanted to believe him, but I wasn’t ready to.
Taking a “Break” from Psychiatric Medication
There’s much planning and reflecting involved in making a big move and my biggest concern was managing my anxiety and depression medication. Not only did I need to make sure I had enough to last me a few months once I got back to the States, but I also needed to sort out insurance and find a new doctor.
But I kept avoiding these tasks.
Once we were settled in Houston, every time I thought about the process of meeting a new doctor and running down the lengthy list of addicts and alcoholics in my family, describing my abusive childhood and my almost successful suicide attempt while remembering all of the medications I’d tried in vain, my brain flatlined. What I needed to do to ensure my mental health suddenly felt impossible. Instead of asking for help, which felt like a herculean task, I assuaged my anxiety by deciding to let my prescriptions run out. Besides, after five years on medication, my body could use a break, and despite clear evidence to the contrary, I felt stable enough to handle any anxiety or depression that could pop up in the future. However, at the time I neglected to give any credit to the role my medication played in supporting my relative calm and stability.
As the months passed in Houston, I started to notice subtle dips in my mood, but each time I’d dismiss it as being part of my monthly PMS package or something that could easily be fixed with a long walk or a quick afternoon nap. But about six months in, I found it exhausting to even think about putting on my sneakers. My occasional mood swings turned into full on sobbing sessions and instead of experiencing PMS one or two weeks every month, it slowly became four and then five until I lost track of when my last cycle ended and the new one began.
Depression, Anxiety, and Suicidal Ideation
My deepening depression wasn’t the only issue. One sunny Saturday afternoon, my husband and I took a road trip to Austin. As I was driving us home, I became increasingly anxious. The roads were dark, I couldn’t see beyond the headlights, and my mind began to spin. Mid-panic attack, my husband convinced me to pull over so he could take the wheel. I was so angry at myself for not being able to handle something as simple and routine as driving.
The more I struggled, the more I believed there was just something wrong with me and as a result, my medication or lack thereof never came to mind. I’d spiraled so quickly down a black hole that it didn’t even occur to me to ask for help, although it was becoming undeniably clear that I desperately needed it.
It’s impossible to explain to someone who’s never had suicidal thoughts what it feels like to be in a space where the only option you think you have to end your suffering is death. There’s no way to put into words the void that enters your mind when you no longer feel the pain, but it continues to seep into every second of your life. And there’s no making sense of the relief you quietly experience when death, something you may have once feared, suddenly becomes your very own golden ticket. Sadly, during the year I lived in Houston, off medication, I reached this low.
Finally, my husband sat me down and gently asked if I’d stopped taking my meds. At that moment I surrendered. In a freak moment of clarity, I knew what I had to do – I needed to find a doctor. We were getting ready to move back to New York in a few weeks, but before I left Houston, I got on the phone and scheduled an appointment.
Why Did I Stop Taking My Meds?
At our first meeting, I jumped through all of the usual hoops, getting my new doctor up to speed on my background and mental health history. I dove into the details about my alcoholic mother and father, the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse I sustained as a kid and was completely honest about the suicidal thoughts that had been roaring inside my head. And of course, I told her I’d stopped taking my medication.
“When did you decide to stop taking your meds?” the doctor asked.
I answered hesitantly, “um…about a year ago.” I was embarrassed by the choice I’d made, and I kept my fingers crossed that she wouldn’t ask me why.
“Why?” she asked.
“Honestly I don’t really know,” I told her. “I had insurance…I had everything I needed to find a doctor here in the States. I just didn’t do it.”
“So, when you needed your medication the most, you stopped taking it?” she gently asked.
“I don’t understand.”
“You sabotaged yourself, Dawn,” she explained, leaning back in her chair. “As I understand it, living in Houston was rough for you, and you stopped using the one tool you had to help yourself get through it,” she said. “It’s self-sabotage.”
Self-Care
I’ve been back on my meds for two years now, and while I still occasionally get snagged with depression or get overly anxious about a work deadline, for the most part my life has become manageable again. I added therapy back into my mental health regimen about a year ago, and that too has helped tremendously.
Now, without hesitation, I give my meds the credit they deserve. As it turns out, they’ve done more than balance out the chemicals swirling around in my head; in their absence I eventually discovered one of the many tricks I use to get in my own way, especially when I appear to be making progress. Today, taking medication isn’t something I have to do, it’s something I choose to do because I know it’s right for me. Instead of self-sabotage, I choose self-care, health, and stability.
A recent study examined the medical burdens that people in recovery face from alcohol or drug abuse.
For many recovering from addiction, the damage done to their health remains an issue well into sobriety. Massachusetts General Hospital’s Recovery Research Institute in Boston carried out a study that examined the medical burden of people in recovery from alcohol or drug abuse.
Published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, the paper included over 2,000 subjects in active recovery from the 2017 National Recovery Survey.
Around 37% of this sample had received a diagnosis of one or more of these medical issues: liver disease, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, tuberculosis, and diabetes, cancer and hepatitis C.
David Eddie, PhD, is a research scientist and the lead author of the published study. He told Medical News Today, “The prodigious psychological, social, and interpersonal impact of excessive and chronic alcohol and other drug use is well-characterized. Less well-appreciated is the physical disease burden, especially among those who have successfully resolved a significant substance use problem.”
The conclusion of the study was that COPD, heart disease and diabetes all were more prevalent in the recovery sample group than in the general population.
The type of substance most associated with the respondent correlated with the burden of the disease.
Some examples listed in Medical News Today include: hepatitis C correlated to the opioid and stimulant groups (versus the alcohol group); HIV and sexually transmitted infections correlated to the stimulant group than the alcohol group; heart disease appeared the least in the opioid group; diabetes was least seen in the marijuana group, and there was no notable difference found in the prevalence of tuberculosis and COPD.
Chronic inflammation may be an underlying association between drug or alcohol abuse and physical disease. Alcohol is known to be problematic; the WorldJournal of Gastroenterology states that chronic usage of alcohol can lead to systemic inflammation.
Certain findings were expected, while others were surprising. Further research is needed to pinpoint the variations between expected cause and effect.
Eddie noted an example to Medical News Today, “Those citing cannabis as their primary substance did not have lower rates of alcohol-related liver disease than participants who primarily used alcohol. It may be that these individuals had prior histories of heavy alcohol involvement.”
In this study, the participants had a 4% to 7% higher risk of having two or more chronic illnesses, with factors such as additional substance use 10 or more times, being older when developing a disease, and the time in life when recovery began.
Not surprisingly, factors like younger age, social stability and economic resources greatly reduced the risk of ongoing disease.
Coverage of the law, known as Section 35, on NPR’s health news program Shots and elsewhere detailed support for involuntary commitment by law enforcement and individuals who view it as a “last resort” to save their family members from substance abuse.
But Section 35 has also drawn criticism and legal action from both patients, who allege inhumane conditions while committed, and their family members, including one woman whose son committed suicide after his commitment.
As the NPR feature noted, Section 35 allows family members, physicians or law enforcement to petition the courts to commit an individual to substance abuse treatment without securing their permission.
The petition must present “clear and convincing” evidence that the individual in question has an alcohol or substance use disorder, and is likely to commit serious harm to themselves or others because of that disorder.
If the court grants the petition, male patients in Massachusetts are committed to one of three locations, including the Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center (MASC), which is a minimum security prison in Plymouth. Women are sent to one of four addiction treatment facilities, but a lawsuit filed in 2016 bars the state from sending them to correctional institutions.
The use of prisons as treatment facilities is at the heart of most concerns regarding Section 35. More than 6,500 Massachusetts residents were placed in involuntary treatment in the 2018 fiscal year—and while 37 states currently have statutes similar to Section 35, the Bay State is among the few that send involuntarily committed patients to prisons or jails for addiction treatment.
Patients and their family members have alleged that conditions at such locations are, at best, inadequate to properly handle addiction treatment. In several cases, the prisons have reportedly subjected involuntarily committed patients to harsh conditions: a lawsuit filed against the state by 10 men committed to MASC alleged that they were subjected to strip-searches, placed in solitary confinement for minor infractions, and saw violent fights between other inmates—all while receiving minimal counseling or mental health treatment.
The NPR coverage also detailed the case of Sean Wallace, whose mother Robin committed him to a 90-day program in a state prison. She recalled his fear that he would be unable to continue with methadone treatment while committed, but because of her experience as an addiction treatment counselor, Wallace said, “I couldn’t conceive that there would be an opioid treatment program that would not provide medication-assisted treatment.”
As NPR noted, Sean’s concerns were well-founded. Not only was he unable to continue with methadone, he was frequently placed in solitary confinement for no apparent reason. Upon his release, Sean struggled with adjustment. Anxiety issues led to hospitalization and another jail sentence before he took his own life.
His mother told NPR that she believes his time in involuntary commitment was a contributing factor.
The Massachusetts Department of Correction told NPR in an emailed statement that the huge demand for treatment has some centers turning away individuals who refuse voluntary commitment, and placement in prisons provides a solution.
The piece also quoted Denise Bohan, who said that involuntary commitment saved her son’s life.
“This is a last resort,” she said. “This is a desperate act of just trying to save your child’s life.”
While families continue to weigh the option of placing a substance-addicted member in such a program, state officials are considering whether to remove correctional facilities from Section 35 due to a growing understanding that addiction requires medical treatment and not incarceration.
The woman said she noticed a significant difference after the second treatment.
People suffering from severe depression oftentimes don’t feel like they care if they live or die. That’s the state that Heather B. Armstrong was in when she agreed to participate in an experimental depression treatment that induced a deep coma to try to reset the brain and treat her depression.
“If it means I don’t have to feel this way through the rest of my life, let’s maybe do it?” Armstrong said of the treatment in an interview with The New York Post.
The treatment mimics brain death by inducing a deep coma for 15 minutes at a time over 10 sessions. This “burst suppression” essentially shuts down the brain’s neurological communications before starting them back up, resetting neurological functions that may contribute to symptoms of depression. Doctors who help anesthetize patients call the deep sedations “the abyss.”
“Quieting is a polite way of saying ‘taking down to zero,’” Armstrong writes.
Although the thought of the treatment was terrifying—doctors used the anesthetic propofol to sedate Armstrong and the opioid fentanyl to help her cope with headaches induced by the process—Armstrong quickly saw results.
“It was after the second treatment when I suddenly realized, ‘Oh, I showered without even thinking about it!’ After the third treatment… I started doing my hair and wearing cleaner clothes,” she said.
Halfway through the treatment cycle, “I was sitting outside watching my kids playing, and I actually felt happy,” she said.
Armstrong wasn’t alone in her success. She was one of 10 people who took part in a study run by the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Institute. Of those, six people experienced significant relief from their depression symptoms.
Doctors believe the treatment works in a similar way to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) by targeting the brain’s neural networks. However, the treatment appears to avoid common complications of ECT, including memory loss.
Researcher Dr. Brian J. Mickey said in the afterword of Armstrong’s book. “This study… could be the beginning of something new, but the true benefits of Propofol for treatment-resistant depression remain unknown. Much work still needs to be done.”
It has now been two years since Armstrong underwent the treatments, and she says that her depression symptoms have stayed at bay. By undergoing brain death again and again, she has rediscovered life.
Yang also vowed to legalize marijuana on April 20, 2021.
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang outlined his position to decriminalize drugs such as heroin and non-prescription fentanyl when found in small amounts during a CNN town hall on Sunday.
The candidate, who is relatively unknown in a crowded and growing field of Democratic presidential hopefuls, is running on a number of unusually progressive positions, including a $1,000 per month universal basic income for all U.S. citizens. He also fully supports the complete legalization of marijuana across the country.
At the town hall, Yang described the opioid crisis as a “plague” and called out the U.S. government for being “complicit in enabling this opioid epidemic,” saying it “stood by while Purdue Pharma dispensed hundreds of thousands of OxyContin prescriptions as a non-addictive wonder drug.”
He recalled an exchange he’d had with a high school student whose friends had gotten their hands on fentanyl patches and were now addicted to opioids.
“How can we get them treatment when they’re afraid they’re going to get sent to jail if they step up and say, I have a problem?” Yang asked on behalf of the student. He then brought up the example of Portugal, which decriminalized all opioids as long as an individual doesn’t have more than a week’s supply of the drug. “Then, instead of referring you to a jail cell, we refer you to treatment.”
Yang specified that this policy would include heroin. However, he is not currently in favor of decriminalizing cocaine, because “the addiction has very different features.”
Yang has also vowed to pardon all non-violent cannabis-related crimes after legalizing the drug on April 20, 2021 and high-fiving every released prisoner on their way out.
Currently, all major Democratic presidential candidates support cannabis legalization. President Donald Trump has expressed support for decriminalization, though he said he would leave the issue up to the states. No other candidates have expressed support for opioid decriminalization.
A recent Emerson poll found that Yang is polling at 3%, just ahead of Senator Cory Booker. Despite founding multiple start-ups, including the non-profit Venture for America, Yang is running without political experience.
The pop star shared a quote by Carrey about depression and the award-winning comedic actor reached out to her on social media.
This month, pop star Ariana Grande shared that she is going through “hell” at every concert, reliving the trauma of recent years.
In 2017, Grande survived a terrorist attack at her concert at Manchester Arena in England that killed 22 people and wounded 59. The following year, her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, succumbed to a fatal overdose. All while the media and fans scrutinized her whirlwind relationship with SNL cast member Pete Davidson.
She recently shared a quote by author Jeff Foster on her Instagram Story about depression.
“Depression is your body saying, ‘I don’t want to be this character anymore. I don’t want to hold up this avatar that you’ve created in the world. It’s too much for me. You should think of the word ‘depressed’ as ‘deep rest.’ Your body needs to be depressed. It needs deep rest from the character that you’ve been trying to play.”
“I read your lovely mention of me and things I’ve said about depression. A brilliant teacher and friend, Jeff Foster was OG on the ‘Deep Rest’ concept. I admire your openness. I wish you freedom and peace. I feel blessed to have such a gifted admirer. Happy Easter!”
The singer, a die-hard Jim Carrey fan, thanked the actor for his kindness. “Thank you for taking the time to share this with me. You are such an inspiration. I can’t wait to tattoo this tweet to my forehead,” she responded.
Earlier this month, Grande shared her brain scans with fans on Instagram, comparing them to images of a “healthy brain.” But the lit-up areas of her brain indicated the effects of PTSD.
She followed with a note to fans. “Didn’t mean to startle anyone with my brain thingy. It just blew me away. I found it informative and interesting and wanted to encourage y’all to make sure you check on your brains/listen to your bodies/take care of yourselves too.”
“Making [music] is healing. Performing it is like reliving it all over again and it is hell,” she wrote.
Grande is currently on tour to promote her two albums Sweetener and thank u, next. She just performed at Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California, where she was joined on stage by *NSYNC, Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber.
The teacher says it was all for the purpose of learning, and nothing else.
A professor dubbed “the Japanese Walter White” has been accused of teaching his students to make ecstasy and another designer drug.
In Japan, a government license is required to produce narcotics for academic research. Iwamura did have the license at some point, but it was expired at the time he was accused of having the students make the drugs.
The Japan Times reports that Matsuyama University professor Tatsunori Iwamura, 61, was aware that he was breaking the law by conducting the class experiment despite his expired license.
Iwamura allegedly instructed an associate professor and four students to produce MDMA in class—the first time being 2011-2013 and again from 2016-2017, according to the Times. Then, the professor would take the drugs “into his possession.”
While multiple reports including from the Guardian claim that the professor also had students make 5F-QUPIC, a cannabis-like designer drug, the Times makes no mention of it. 5F-QUPIC, also known as 5F-PB-22, is a controlled substance in the U.S., UK and China.
Iwamura says it was all for the purpose of learning, and nothing else.
Authorities, acting on a tip, did not find ecstasy in a search of the professor’s home or lab at the university. But they did find traces of 5F-QUPIC, according to the Guardian.
Authorities are now investigating the four students and associate professor involved in the illegal drug-making. President of Matsuyama University Tatsuya Mizogami said the university will pursue punitive action against Iwamura following the outcome of the investigation. “We sincerely apologize for causing major concern to students and their parents,” Mizogami said.
Iwamura is facing prison time for his illicit class experiment. The Guardian reports that he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Japanese culture is not at all forgiving about drug use. In March, Sega indefinitely halted sales of its new video game Judgment after allegations surfaced that actor Pierre Taki, who portrayed a yakuza crime boss in the game, was arrested for cocaine possession.
ARTICLE OVERVIEW:If you are expecting a drug test for Valium, the brand name for diazepam, check out this infographic. We review detection times for Valium in urine, blood, hair and saliva. Plus, factors that influence it.
Drug Name: Valium, main ingredient diazepam Drug Class: Depressants/Sedatives/Hypnotics Street Names: VS, FooFoo, Howards
Valium, generic name diazepam, is a benzodiazepine with central nervous system depressant effects. It is a long-acting prescription medication used to treat anxiety disorders, muscle spasms, seizures, insomnia, and alcohol withdrawal symptoms. It is available as tablets, oral solution and injection. [1]
Continued use of Valium for a period of longer than 4-6 weeks can easily lead to tolerance, dependence, and possible addiction. This is why the medication is listed as a Schedule IV under the Controlled Substance Act. [2]
Use Statistics
According to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, there were more than 7 million Americans using diazepam in the past year. Of them, most were adults. Still, around 131,000 people who use Valium in the U.S. were adolescents and 650,000 were Americans between the ages 18-25.
More than 6 million U.S. adults reported using Valium in 2017.
Valium is also abused by more than a million Americans. That’s an estimated 0.4% of the U.S. population aged 12 or older. Nearly 50K teens, more than 200,000 young adults and nearly 800,000 adults aged 26+ reported past year abuse. [3]
Why Drug Test?
Diazepam is a tranquilizer that can cause sleepiness, drowsiness, confusion, and memory loss. Employers may order a drug test in order to identify the reasons for work impairment. In other cases, a court may order a drug test for legal reasons.
Additionally, there may be medical reasons for a drug text. For example, emergency rooms drug test in cases of injury or overdose. Or, your prescribing doctor may ask you for drug testing as part of your treatment. Finally, people in rehab are regularly tested for the presence of psychoactive drugs like diazepam. Knowing more about drug testing and how long Valium will remain in your system and is important, whatever the reasons.
Detection Window
A drug detection window is the period of time during which a drug screen can detect the presence of a drug or its metabolites in your urine, hair, saliva, or blood. The half-life of Valium is fairly long. On average, it can take 20 hours or even more for just half of the medication to be eliminated from your system. For chronic Valium users, diazepam can be detected in urine for 4-6 weeks even after you stop taking it.
However, drug detection windows are variable. We might even say that drug detection windows vary by person. This is because detection and metabolism depends on several individual factors, including the type of test used. Additionally, some people metabolize drugs relatively faster than other people.
There are several drug tests used to detect the presence of Valium in the body. These tests use different markers to detect the presence of diazepam in body fluids such as urine, saliva, hair, and blood.
Urine: A urine drug test will detect diazepam for up to 10 days after the last use. Saliva: Valium is detectable on oral fluid tests 3 days after quitting. Blood: The detection period for a blood tests is about 2 days. Hair: Valium can be detected up to 90 days in hair follicle drug test.
IMORTANT: Diazepam detection times in urine, blood, hair, and saliva are in average and can vary greatly between individuals. You should use this information as a general guide only.
Influence Factors
There are many factors can factors that can affect the test’s results. Some of them include:
Age
Diet and use of fluids
Frequency and length of use
Gender
Level of physical activity you engage in
Liver and kidney function
Metabolism
Weight
Your health
In general, younger people eliminate diazepam faster than older ones. In fact, Valium’s typical half-life in a young, healthy person is about 24 hours. Also, people with slower metabolism will have Valium longer in their system. Those with liver or kidney problems can also have slower the elimination period.
Any Questions?
If you have any other questions about Valium detection times, feel free to post them in the comment section below. We will gladly try to answer to all real life questions promptly and personally.
Moreover, if you feel that your Valium use is out of control and you need help quitting, you should consider addiction treatment. Don’t hesitate to call our caring admission navigators on the hotline number listed on this page. We are available 24/7 to discuss treatment options with you.
“I hadn’t set out to make a political film but my personal point of view about what’s happening right now is horrifying. I mean whatever way we’re dealing with the opiate crisis, it isn’t working.”
Writer-director Nia DaCosta’s first feature Little Woods is fresh off the film festival circuit and now playing in theaters nationwide. The movie earned multiple awards including Tribeca’s prestigious 2018 Nora Ephron Prize. It’s the kind of thriller that makes you lean forward—a nail-biter. Tessa Thompson and Lily James keep the audience transfixed.
This is a tale of two sisters living in Little Woods, North Dakota, a fracking town in rapid decline. Ollie (Thompson) is the stronger, tougher sib. She’s the one who gets things done. Unfortunately she got too careless as a drug runner and was caught transporting opioids across the border from Canada. When Parole Officer Carter (Lance Reddick) reminds Ollie that they have only one more meeting before she’s free to start a legit job in Spokane, his concerned look foreshadows looming problems. He says, “Please stay out of trouble,” but the audience understands: Uh oh. Something bad is gonna happen.
Deb (James) had been the most popular girl in high school so it’s not a surprise that she paired up with the most popular guy, Ian (James Badge Dale). But now Ian is an alcoholic and deadbeat dad to their son Johnny (Charlie Ray Reid). Frail Deb is a broken and broke substance abuser with a knack for screwing up her life.
The estranged sisters are together again in the house they grew up in, each feeling exhausted and alone despite their close physical proximity. They are separately grieving the recent loss of their mother after a prolonged illness, in which Ollie stayed to provide care while Deb did her own thing. Their family history is fraught with resentments.
Easing their mother’s pain was the impetus for Ollie’s initial border-crossing opioid-gathering mission. Canadian prescription painkillers were cheaper. That was how the trafficking started; we get the bigger picture when Deb asks Ollie why she got caught.
“I forgot to be scared,” Ollie said. “I liked it too much.”
There is no money left after their mom’s death. Mortgage payments are overdue and Ollie finds a foreclosure notice on the front door. She is ready to just walk away, to blow this depressing town and let the bank take the house. With a new job to look forward to, she feels hopeful for the first time in longer than she can remember.
Then everything comes to a screeching halt.
Deb reveals that she is accidentally pregnant by Johnny’s no-good father.
Deb tried to handle things herself: She went to see a doctor but was told that without insurance, the cost of prenatal care combined with the fees for the birth would run between $8,000 and $9,000. Disillusioned, she opts for an abortion only to discover that North Dakota abortion centers were shuttered. Finally, desperate, Deb researches where she can get a legal abortion in Canada.
When Deb breaks down and tells Ollie the news, including that she’ll have to travel hundreds of miles in order to get an affordable abortion, the stronger sister kicks into high gear like the super-duper codependent she is. With only one week to pay the bank at least half of the $6,000 they owe on the mortgage, Ollie decides she can’t leave destitute Deb and Johnny homeless.
That’s when I wanted to scream, “No! Go to Al-Anon!”
But Ollie risks her freedom, her new job, and her safety to make one last drug run. The heart-pumping action begins. Luke Kirby plays the frightening drug dealer.
Nia DaCosta talked to journalist Dorri Olds for The Fix.
“They told me in film school, ‘Write what you know,’” said DaCosta. “At first, I took that literally. But I didn’t want to write about my life, I wanted to explore other worlds.”
DaCosta figured out that she could use the same principle to write about topics she didn’t know but could learn if she was able to relate emotionally.
“We look at poverty and addiction as personal failures, moral failures,” said the Brooklyn-born, Harlem-raised 29-year-old. “I had a great family. I mean we weren’t well off but growing up in New York City, I could walk to a hospital. I can get to a Planned Parenthood. Lives of deprivation, like Deb and Ollie’s, [were] completely unfamiliar to me.”
Determined and hardworking, DaCosta spent time in Williston, North Dakota to write the fictional town of Little Woods. She was stunned by how little she knew about how dark life is for so many people in America, especially women.
“I wanted to present what was happening. This is reality. This is where we are. Medications are overprescribed to a startling degree. I remember getting 20 Vicodin pills when I got my wisdom teeth taken out. I didn’t need any of the pills.”
Alarmed, she threw them out.
“I hadn’t set out to make a political film but my personal point of view about what’s happening right now is horrifying. I mean whatever way we’re dealing with the opiate crisis, it isn’t working. That is heartbreaking.”
DaCosta confirmed that trafficking opioids was never about getting high for Ollie. But after smuggling affordable painkillers to help her mom, Ollie found out how much locals would pay for the ill-gotten opioids. The town of Little Woods attracted men who came for the oil drilling jobs, hard manual labor that resulted in body aches and chronic pain. The more Ollie became known as the go-to for “meds,” the more it went to her head. She liked being a badass drug dealer. In a town where there were few options, especially for women, she liked her tough persona and getting to hang with the boys.
“It gave her a purpose,” said DaCosta. “It gave her a place where she mattered; a way to stand out.”
The filmmaker decided to add substance misuse to Deb’s problems after she spent time in North Dakota researching for the movie.
“I remember talking to people, and it was just a part of the ecosystem. Everyone I spoke to either knew someone, or they themselves had substance abuse issues and had been involved with it in some way.”
Even though she didn’t set out to make a political film, DaCosta’s movie explores interrelated social, economic, and health problems that the U.S. is grappling with. In the red states, clinics that perform abortions and other health services for women are being shut down. Many fear that Roe vs. Wade may be overturned. The opioid epidemic has reached astonishing numbers. Click here for more information.
Nia DaCosta and Tessa Thompson discuss Planned Parenthood:
