I have to get even more personal than usual in this latest film review, because “The Rise of Opioids” hit me hard.
Sponsored by Muncy’s Road Radio USA and produced by Williamsport’s On the Pulse, this documentary on the local opioid crisis starts right off by interviewing Caroline Miele, who lost her son Zachary to an overdose in 2016.
A mere 27 years old, Zach was twice my student in English courses at Loyalsock — and also a classmate of my older son.
Accompanied by home-video footage of a very young Zach playing happily with his siblings, Miele reflects: “Kids need to be educated about drugs and what they can do.”
“The Rise of Opioids” takes a big step in that direction.
Directed, filmed and edited by Anne Reiner and Noah Beiter, the eye-opening doc features interviews with local figures in law enforcement, medicine, counseling and even an undercover narcotics officer. In a mere 28 minutes, this movie lays out the magnitude of the problem, along with its exact nature and tragic effects, plus a vision of hope for recovery.
Williamsport Police Chief Justin Snyder, who works with PA State Police as well as national agencies like the FBI and DEA, points out that even now, some folks continue to assume heroin is not happening in Lycoming County.
“The reality is that it’s here,” says Snyder, “and it’s very easily accessible.”
Cpl. Mitch McMunn, of Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence with the PA State Police, observes that the key is shutting off drugs at their source: Mexican cartels. His own local efforts, McMunn observes, are somewhat like attempting to repair a household plumbing-leak without shutting off the water-main first.
“You’re kinda slowing it down,” says McMunn, “but you’re not stopping it.”
Shea Madden, executive director of the West Branch Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission (WBDAAC), points out that “young, vibrant members of our community are dying. And it’s not just one type of person.” In fact, says Madden, as it assists in counseling and recovery, the commission finds that its typical client is white, local and age 18-30.
“It’s destroying families and people’s lives,” says Madden — adding that the county recently lost an overdose victim who was only 12 years old.
“We had 39 drug deaths in 2020,” says Lycoming Country Coroner Charles Kiessling. And he adds pointedly:
“We shouldn’t have to bury our children.”
Interviewed anonymously, the undercover narcotics officer pinpoints one key factor in these deaths: fentanyl.
“All heroin being sold in Lycoming County is fentanyl since 2018,” he says, calling this a calculated profit move by the cartels — because fentanyl is cheaper, easier to make and requires smaller doses.
But that final aspect is the death knell, as street-level buyers wind up overdosing on drugs much stronger than they suspected — or possibly laced with other deadly substances like xylazine, “a tranquilizer not intended for humans,” says the officer. Kiessling points out that he has seen as many as 10-12 different substances showing up in his post-mortem toxicology reports.
The coroner likewise notes that along with these overdoses, increasing drug use is generally accompanied by violent crime. This connection is also confirmed in the film by WBDAAC counselor Taylor Falk, himself a recovering addict:
“Once you’re in the grips,” says Falk, “everything you’ve grown up having instilled in you completely goes out the window. You put drugs into me, and I’m a monster.”
Courageously speaking of his own addiction in the present tense — as though he must never deny it or forget it — Falk provides a model of transparency in the midst of a crisis where stigma is sometimes the biggest roadblock.
Miele recalls Zach’s shame, embarrassment and even tears over his own addiction, while Madden similarly insists it is essential to work on the stigma — adding that basically one-fourth of her WBDAAC staffers are themselves in long-term recovery.
Dr. John Boll, associate director of UPMC Williamsport, stresses that relationships also can be key to moving forward. “Chronic pain and addiction are very isolating diseases,” says Boll, “and they’re also completely underserved.”
As these conditions are often accompanied by depression, it is vital for friends and family to stay close and available for a time when victims may decide to reach out for help.
In the film, Lycoming County Judge Nancy Butts also recounts stories of recovery, providing hope for working past the sort of trauma that leads people into abuse and addiction.
Madden movingly points out that “people don’t want to be addicted to substances — that is not the life they want.” To which she adds: “I just want people to know that there’s help available. And that there is hope.”
While “The Rise of Opioids” sounds a ringing alarm, it certainly achieves that latter goal as well.
As of December 15th, the film is available free on YouTube.
