Heroin facts & the effects of smoking opium w/ Paul Newman

Heroin. It's one of the most powerful illegal drugs and is still regularly abused around the world. This intense film explores where heroin comes from, how it's processed, and by what methods it enters into the United States for sale on the black market in the 1970's. It's also narrated by the wonderful Hollywood icon Paul Newman who illuminates the history of heroin. Opium has been a source of drug addiction for thousands of years. The film reveals how opium is made into heroin. Originally used chiefly in Mediterranean countries, the drug eventually spread to Arab countries and to the Far East. It is now smuggled into the United States. Today, illegal drug smuggling is a serious issue in the United States as smuggling techniques become more sophisticated. Despite efforts to crack down on the availability of narcotics, it is nearly impossible to prevent them from entering the country. The manner of processing opium into heroin has also become more advanced. The effects of heroin are examined, as well as substance abuse treatment for heroin addiction. The film continues with a description of how heroin addicts have started to be treated differently in the 1970s. The major shift was from moving away from criminalization of addicts to treatment. This is ironic, however, since less than a decade later the War on Drugs would begin and drug abuse would return to criminal activity. A stirring look at heroin abuse, Distant Drummer: Flowers in the Darkness is an intense but important viewing experience to learn more about the history of drug abuse.