Do No Harm | The Opioid Epidemic

"In a clear and engaging way, this passionate and disturbing film traces the origin of the worst man-made epidemic in history. By learning how it happened we are left better equipped to respond and better equipped to prevent future disasters. It should be required viewing for anyone interested in tackling the opioid addiction epidemic."

Andrew Kolodny The Co-Director of Opioid Policy Research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University/Executive Director of PROP (Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing)

"On average, 115 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose."

Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic sheds light on why opioid addiction is receiving ever-greater media attention. The opioid epidemic is mainstream news but not enough attention is given to the growing need for recovery support programs as opioid overdose fatalities drastically increase.

Working closely with Dr. Andrew Kolodny and PROP (Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing), Do No Harm exposes how this catastrophic man-made public health crisis began.

Filmed in the opioid epidemic ground zeros of Seattle, Kentucky and New Hampshire, the film features poignant stories from recovering addicts and families with losses; reveals the insights of leading doctors and law enforcement officers; reports the failure of drug companies to take appropriate responsibility for the crisis; traces what monies legislators have received; and focuses on those who fight back with effective, long-lasting treatment programs. Narrated by Golden Globe®-winning actor Ed Harris, the 90-minute feature unravels the unintentional web of co-conspirators and sheds light on the suspicious circumstances that have led to the opioid crisis.

Do No Harm Screening Events:

Spark discussion and community dialogue
Raise public awareness
Encourage public policy advocacy
Inspire and promote calls to action
Support organization benefits

Show Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic at community centers, campuses, educational institutions, libraries, places of worship, correctional facilities, museums and more. Here’s how to get started:

1. Consider how you and your organization would benefit from a screening event.

2. Determine who your target audience will be and how you will reach them.

3. Invite prospective co-hosts, sponsors, organizations and businesses in your community to support, collaborate, conduct outreach and share organizing tasks with you.

4. Select a date, a time and venue for your screening event.

5. Purchase a Public Performance License from Media Policy Center and receive a DVD of Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic within 2 weeks.

“Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic exposes the opioid lie we have been living in America for decades. This film and companion book can play a key role in educating communities about why opioid manufacturers should be held accountable for their calculated deception of health professionals and the general public. It’s time for accountability. It’s time for restitution. It’s time to help our communities heal and recover.”

Greg Williams Greg Williams, MA (Executive Vice President, Facing Addiction with NCADD)

“Those of us who work in addiction treatment and rehabilitation need to expand our abilities to provide knowledge. “Do No Harm” illustrates the unvarnished truth on how the medical profession and public were “duped” into creating an epidemic that could have been prevented.”

Bob Dorris National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, San Fernando Valley, CA

“The government calls this an emergency. Families call it a plague! The White House says that the opioid epidemic now costs the U.S. Economy 504 billion dollars a year. The time for action is now. The time for communities to see this film is now.”

Bob Elliott National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence, San Diego

“Appreciate the Media Policy team’s enormous efforts that align and certainly support our shared public, community, and political education mission.”

David Tauben MD Chief of Pain Medicine, University of Washington

“The opioid epidemic is the culmination of misaligned incentives and poor regulatory oversight of prescribers, a cash cow for pharma, and an incredibly alluring drug for patients. Despite immense effort to gain control of the damaging and deadly crisis, we have made only marginal gains. The persistent yet changing landscape of the epidemic is testament to the profound effects that an opioid has on its users, whether through its exacerbation of pain, the search for the next best high, or the craving caused by addiction. Do No Harm presents this disturbing but important story.”

Lewis S. Nelson, MD Professor and Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

“Do No Harm does an excellent job of defining the causes and conditions resulting in one-quarter of a million deaths due to use of opioids – the main takeaway is that opioids are NOT the proper solution for the treatment of chronic pain.”

Mel Pohl, MD DFASAM Chief Medical Officer, Las Vegas Recovery Center

“Do No Harm unflinchingly exposes the role of the pharmaceutical industry in the creation of the current opioid epidemic, while also compassionately probing the suffering of its victims … who include not only those who have died or become addicted to opioids, but their grieving parents and orphaned children left behind.”

Anna Lembke Assoc Prof-Med Ctr Line, Stanford University

“Every clinician who prescribes opioids for chronic pain needs to watch this program. Until we are honest about the harm that has been done, and the role of well-intentioned physicians in fueling the devastating epidemics of prescription drug addiction and overdose, we cannot begin to turn this problem around.”

Michael Von Korff Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle WA

“The irony is drugs that can take away anguish always seem to create anguish as payback.”

Christopher J Evans Professor, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology

“Opioid drugs are great until they aren’t. They aren’t when they stop giving pleasure and pain relief, and start destroying natural pleasure and pain relief. Education is the strongest tool for prevention and Do No Harm is the best (or strongest) film I have seen in battling this epidemic.”

Jane C. Ballantyne Professor, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington

“Doctors, drug companies, and politicians must accept responsibility for their part in creating the cruel opioid epidemic, but alone they will fail to reverse its scourge. Community and family efforts, education and persistence, are inescapable treatment modalities. Do No Harm shows us the terrible pain, and who’s to blame, but also gives us hope with recovery strategies, not just for individuals, but for the nation.”

Richard J. Jackson Professor of Environmental Health, UCLA School of Public Health

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