Facing Fentanyl

Joe Hern died unexpectedly in 2017 after overdosing on cocaine laced with fentanyl. He was the youngest of five siblings, a father of two children and a former Columbus police officer.

In 2021, fentanyl was the No. 1 cause of death for Americans age 18 to 45, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Leslie Ostronic and I spent our 2022 spring semester at Ohio University making this documentary, “Facing Fentanyl.” This 7-minute film looks at how fentanyl’s new wave of harm is affecting Ohio today as the fentanyl crisis continues to expand beyond heroin.

Find resources at harmreductionohio.org and findtreatment.gov or call the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services 24/7 Careline at 1-800-720-9616.

This project was awarded a Regional Emmy in the Non-Fiction Short Form category of the 2022 Student Production Awards by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Ohio Valley Chapter.