Tonight, every television station and many radio stations in Arizona will broadcast “Hooked: Tracking Heroin’s Hold on Arizona,” a 30-minute documentary produced by Cronkite News. Digital packages accompanying the documentary, listed in this digest, are available for client use by following the links below. Those that have already been released are marked as such atop this advisory. Other packages are available for use online and in print after 6:30 p.m. today (Tuesday, Jan. 13).

ALREADY RELEASED

Heroin’s road to Arizona tests law enforcement, feeds a growing demand

NOGALES, Ariz. – Traffickers will use any means to smuggle heroin and other drugs into the United States. Their routes and techniques are constantly adapting, and law enforcement agencies are forced to adapt as well.

Slug: Hooked-Road to Arizona. 2200 words. By Emilie Eaton.

Elements: Text story, five images, video.

Heroin overdoses a grim toll of deadly, unforgiving addiction

UNDATED – At its worst, the life of a heroin addict is deadly and unforgiving. From 2010 to 2013, drug deaths topped even the number of motor vehicle deaths in Arizona with 1,106 drug deaths compared to 711 motor vehicle deaths in 2010 and 1,200 to 770 in 2013, according to yearly reports from the Arizona Department of Health Services. Here are some of those stories.

Slug: Hooked-Overdoses. 1300 words. By Hunter Marrow and Erin O’Connor.

Elements: Text story, three images.

Heroin-trafficking groups employ friends, relatives in Arizona

UNDATED – Many Mexican drug trafficking organizations employ relatives and friends, officials say. Keeping the organization family-based makes it more difficult for law enforcement to penetrate the organization.

Slug: Hooked-Suppliers. 1250 words. By Allison Walker.

Elements: Text story.

First responders, hospitals on front lines of Arizona’s heroin crisis

UNDATED – When someone overdoses on heroin, it’s a race against time for first responders and hospitals to revive them. Learn about the struggle from the perspectives of overdose survivors, paramedics and emergency room workers.

Slug: Hooked-Front Lines. 1900 words. By Lauren Loftus and Carlene Reyes.

Elements: Text story, six images, three videos.

In Prescott, ‘everybody’s hometown’ grapples with heroin addiction

PRESCOTT – Group homes, treatment programs and property crime are up and property values are down as this rural city, which locals endearingly call “everybody’s hometown,” struggles with a rise in heroin use.

Slug: Hooked-Prescott. 2200 words. By Jessica Boehm.

Elements: Text story, six photos.

Also:

• TUCSON – A little more than an hour up Interstate 19 from the border, Tucson has become an epicenter of Arizona’s heroin epidemic. A Cronkite News analysis of state data shows the five ZIP codes that saw the most overdoses between 2009 and 2013 were all in metropolitan Tucson. Slug: Hooked-Tucson. 1650 words. By Stephen Hamway. Elements: Text story, four images.
• YUMA – The promise of drugs is a given here. Access to the San Luis Port of Entry and the Andrade Port of Entry promotes a street-trafficking culture that punctuates every block of Yuma. A robust and consistent heroin user-dealer network thrives on its streets. Slug: Hooked-Yuma. 2100 words. By Danielle Grobmeier. Elements: Text story, 10 photos.

‘Preppy girl’ to ‘ghetto Barbie’: Heroin use among teens, 20-somethings

UNDATED – They lived in tattered boxes, abandoned cars and the backyards of dilapidated houses. It didn’t matter. They were addicts in their teens and 20s. All they needed was heroin.

Slug: Hooked-Teens & 20-Somethings. 1750 words. By Sandy Balazic.

Elements: Text story, four images.

New generation embraces heroin, but youth doesn’t lend itself to treatment

UNDATED – Fueled by easy access to opiate painkillers, a new generation of heroin addicts has emerged. They are young, white and suburban. But the hallmarks of youth, risk taking and impulsive behavior, do not lend themselves to treatment.

Slug: Hooked-Rehab. 1800 words. By Evonne Ermey.

Elements: Text story, 10 images.

For heroin users, finding hope while anticipating death

UNDATED – As heroin destroyed the lives of these young addicts, each was each left searching for something bigger. Many surviving addicts continue to work their way through 12-step programs, which lead them to what they call a higher power.

Slug: Hooked-Finding Hope. 100 words. By Hannah Lawrence.

Elements: Video story.

FOR RELEASE AT 6:30 P.M. MST TUESDAY, JAN. 13

Ending a love affair with heroin: One couple’s attempts to get clean

UNDATED – Seconds after the call from her heroin dealer comes in, 21-year-old Dezarae jogs down the stairs of her Chandler apartment to pick up her dope. Minutes later, she’s shooting up in her bathroom. “It’s something that has like a grasp on me that I can’t explain—that I love, but I hate at the same time,” she says, “It’s like something that I’m always looking for, but always trying to get away from.” She only does a little bit, she says, just enough to make her feel better. She’s trying to quit. It’s a Monday evening. Dezarae has been addicted to heroin since she was 16. She says she’s going to start detoxing the next day. It doesn’t happen. Like thousands of heroin addicts across Arizona, Dezarae says she wants to quit, but despite her efforts, she repeatedly has relapsed. Her 25-year-old boyfriend Paul is an addict too. Over an 11-week period, Cronkite News followed the couple’s efforts to get clean.

Slug: Hooked-Love Affair. 2650 words. By Sean Logan

Elements: Text story, photos.

Trend of over-prescribing painkillers a path to heroin addiction

UNDATED – Doctors in the U.S. are prescribing painkillers far more frequently these days, and experts say addiction to opioid drugs can be a pathway to heroin use. In fact, most heroin addicts have graduated from abusing prescription drugs.

Slug: Hooked-Over-prescribing. 2150 words. By Alexa Armstrong.

Elements: Text story, three images, video story.

For parents, a child’s struggle with heroin addiction can be all-consuming

UNDATED – At meetings held around Arizona, parents gather to share stories about trials such as finding discarded tin foil with black lines on it – a telltale sign of heroin use. Having a child addicted to heroin, be it a kid or an adult, has left many Arizona parents struggling for answers and support. Some find help at gatherings like these.

Slug: Hooked-Parents. 1900 words. By Imelda Mejia.

Elements: Text story, one image.

For addicts and parents, first steps key to breaking heroin’s grip

UNDATED – Breaking heroin addiction is a battle not just for the user but for his or her family and friends. It’s common knowledge that the most important step is addicts admitting they have a problem. But what should they do next? And what are the first steps for family and friends?

Slug: Hooked-Seeking Help. 1350 words. By Alicia Canales.

Elements: Text story, one image, resources sidebar.

The conversation: When, how to talk with kids about heroin, other drugs

UNDATED – For parents, it’s never too early to begin talking with children about heroin and other drugs. Explore when and how to have these conversations in this video Q&A with experts from NotMyKid and DrugFreeAZKids.org.

Slug: Hooked-The Conversation. 1350 words. By Anastasia Reynolds.

Elements: This is a Q&A combining six videos with text introductions. It includes a sidebar with warning signs of drug use.

Sponsors can be key for those seeking to break heroin’s grip

UNDATED – Ending heroin addiction usually can’t be done alone, as nearly all addicts who try quitting on their own wind up using again. In 12-step programs, former users serving as sponsors help guide addicts through recovery. Hear from three former heroin addicts who now serve as sponsors about their experiences and their role.

Slug: Hooked-Sponsors. By Brittany Ducksworth.

Elements: Video story.

A look behind ‘Hooked: Tracking Heroin’s Hold on Arizona’

UNDATED – Dozens of advanced students in Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication spent months developing “Hooked: Tracking Heroin’s Hold on Arizona.” Hear from team members about what they learned and what they hope results from their investigation.

Slug: Hooked-Participants. By Helen Tracey-Noren.

Elements: Video story.