How America Got Hooked on Opioids | The War on Drugs

In The War On Drugs Show, we examine the social implications of prohibition worldwide. Any attempt to shut down the trade in drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine or weed invariably sets off a chain of events that just makes things worse, leaving a trail of death, illness, violence, slavery, addiction, crime and inequality across the globe. Everyone loses – except, in a weird kind of way, the drugs themselves. Around 58,000 Americans were killed in the Vietnam War. But in 2017 alone, 70,237 Americans died of drug overdoses; the War on Drugs is like a Vietnam War every year. This is the story of the North America Opioid Crisis – how an oversupply of the prescription drug oxycodone collided with fifty years of drug prohibition to create an epidemic every bit as serious as COVID-19. This terrifying crisis reaches every corner of American life, far beyond the clichés of the 'inner-city drug user'. Watch more from this series: Is the Netherlands Turning Into a Narco-State? Is the Netherlands Turning Into a Narco-St... Ketamine Explained, The Next Big Antidepressant Ketamine Explained, The Next Big Antidepre... ‘Spice’ is Britain’s Most Dangerous Drug ‘Spice’ is Britain’s Most Dangerous Drug |... The Great MDMA Drought and Its Deadly Consequences The Great MDMA Drought and Its Deadly Cons... Why Portugal Decriminalized All Drugs Why Portugal Decriminalized All Drugs | Th... The Drug That Makes You Reek of Cat Piss The Drug That Makes You Reek of Cat Piss |... How Super-Strength Weed Dominated the UK How Super-Strength Weed Dominated the UK |... Why Taking Out Drug Lords is a Bad Idea Why Taking Out Drug Lords is a Bad Idea | ... Click here to subscribe to VICE: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE About VICE: The Definitive Guide To Enlightening Information. From every corner of the planet, our immersive, caustic, ground-breaking and often bizarre stories have changed the way people think about culture, crime, art, parties, fashion, protest, the internet and other subjects that don't even have names yet. Browse the growing library and discover corners of the world you never knew existed. Welcome to VICE. Connect with VICE: Check out our full video catalog: http://bit.ly/VICE-Videos Videos, daily editorial and more: http://vice.com More videos from the VICE network: https://www.fb.com/vicevideo Click here to get the best of VICE daily: http://bit.ly/1SquZ6v Like VICE on Facebook: http://fb.com/vice Follow VICE on Twitter: Twitter: vice Follow us on Instagram: Instagram: vice The VICE YouTube Network: VICE: vice MUNCHIES: munchies VICE News: vicenews VICELAND: vicelandtv Broadly: broadly Noisey: noisey Motherboard: motherboardtv VICE Sports: noc i-D: idmagazine Waypoint: waypointvice