Oxyana

2015 • 78 minutes

About this movie

Tucked in the Appalachian mountains of Southern West Virginia, Oceana, is a small, once thriving coal-mining town that has fallen victim to the fast spreading scourge of prescription painkiller Oxycontin. As the coal industry slowly declined and times got tough, a black market for the drug sprung up and along with it a rash of prostitution, theft and murder. Soon its own residents had nicknamed the town Oxyana and it began to live up to its reputation as abuse, addiction and overdoses became commonplace. Oxyana is a harrowing front line account of a community in the grips of an epidemic, told through the voices of the addicts, the dealers and all those affected. It is a haunting glimpse into an American nightmare unfolding before our eyes, a cautionary tale told with raw and unflinching honesty.

Ratings and reviews

Not an overall representation of this town. There are addicts here just like most of the small towns across America. The only way he was able to film these people using was by purchasing the drugs for them. The documentary was filmed almost three years ago and since then its impossible to find an oxycontin. He tries to make a hand full of addicts look like the majority.

This movie was targeting old people that are ignorant and learn about the world throuh the evening news and Jerry Springer and they mostly have trouble grasping the true meaning of manipulation...every 10-20yrs or so this country has an "epidemic" with a drug thats not widely known...which ones next?

I liked this for the most part. I am in the Substance Use Disorder field. (Addict, alcoholic, junkie, etc are labels we are trying to get changed) Americas major problem? lack of education, the monetary gains made by Big Pharma, with no regulations, monetary gains by funneling money into law enforcement and penal institutions with the "lock them all up" mentality. The lack of education point is, we do not start early enough; I am in my 50's so early 80's was whn i got the drugs are bad classes at public HS in California. Too late, I had already tried everything there was I could get my hands on. I was probably high during those classes! AGE appropriate starting in 1st grade. To add, home schooling should be highly regulated as well, if parent isnt an educator with a license, their kids MUST attend public or private schools with accredidations.