7 Helpful Documentaries About Addiction and Recovery

Films and documentaries centered on addiction tackles substance use disorder, the process of recovery, and the growing problem with drugs. This also helps people understand how alcohol or drugs affect a person’s life.

If you or someone you know struggles with addiction and is well on their way to recovery, there are documentaries about addiction and recovery that are sure to provide them with the support they need during this challenging time.

7 Addiction Documentaries You Should Watch

These documentaries are proof that there is a chance to live an addiction-free life. Haven House Recovery Center is a rehab facility welcoming men who want to live a life without drugs or alcohol. We’ve heard real-life stories of hope, survival, and change — stories that look like they’re out of movies.

Here are some of the addiction documentaries we recommend:

1. Recovery Boys

This addiction recovery documentary follows the journey of four recovering addicts. It shows their point of view of the entire process — the highs and lows of recovery. The documentary also shows how they navigated to get their lives back and how they mended broken relationships. Recovery Boys revolves around the opioid epidemic happening in the United States. It highlights the triumphs and struggles of the four men as they try to regain their sober lives.

2. Montana Meth

Montana Meth is one of the many addiction documentaries centered on methamphetamine addiction. This documentary dived deeper into the lives of people in Montana who are struggling with addiction. The documentary showed the following:

• A young woman who traded sex for drugs
• An athlete with straight As in high school who dropped out after using meth for a year
• A tribe member who started using meth ever since he was an 11-year-old kid

Montana Meth shed light on the physical damages caused by methamphetamine addiction like tooth decay, brain damage, skin lesions, paranoia, and death.

3. Drugged – High on Alcohol

This documentary shows Ryan’s journey to alcoholism. He’s a 28-year-old who can’t go on a day without consuming three pints of vodka. Ryan shakes violently if he doesn’t meet his required amount of drink. This addiction recovery documentary shows how Ryan succumbed to a life of alcoholism. It also shows Ryan getting different tests for his drinking problem.

Drugged – High on Alcohol highlights the damage that alcohol does to the body. He started drinking shortly after his alcoholic father died. Ryan shared that the damage was so severe his organs hurt. Ryan is aware of the danger that alcoholism poses but still chooses to drink every single day.

4. Ben: Diary of a Heroin Addict

One of the addiction documentaries to watch is “Ben: Diary of a Heroin Addict.” This follows the story of a young man named Ben Rogers. He has developed an addiction to heroin. Ben documented his last days of addiction and his fight to free himself from the hands of heroin.

Ben started getting hooked on heroin when he was 16. Before that, he was an exceptional student, and he was from a well-off family. It took him 18 years to realize he wanted to live a sober life. His video diary shows his attempt to overcome addiction and redeem himself.

5. Addicted: America’s Opioid Crisis

Aside from the previously mentioned documentaries, one of the addiction documentaries to include in your watch list is “Addicted: America’s Opioid Crisis.” The documentary starts off with children talking about the impact of their parent’s addiction on their lives. The children also mentioned the fear, abandonment, and distressing circumstances they experienced.

This is one of the best documentaries about addiction as it has delved deeper into the opioid crisis happening in America. The documentary covered the following:

• People who are struggling to stay sober from opioids
• Parents who lost their children from overdoses
• Drug enforcement agents stopping drug cartels from delivering opioid shipments
• Drug counselors who are overwhelmed
• A whistleblower who revealed the practices of Purdue Pharma LP

This is one of the documentaries about addiction that exposed chief engineers and pharmaceutical companies. The filmmakers believe that they’re behind the opioid epidemic in the country.

6. Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street

This is one of the documentaries about addiction you shouldn’t miss out on. This documentary covers the lives of individuals aged 18 to 25 who are addicted to heroin. “Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street” is uncensored as it shows the dangers that lie ahead heroin addicts, such as:

• AIDS
• Incarceration
• Overdoses
• Crime
• Rape
• Prostitution
• Death

The documentary also shows the families of the five individuals who are addicted to heroin. There were family scrapbooks showing what their lives were before heroin controlled their lives. This documentary also showcased the pain the families felt as they witnessed the lives of their loved ones getting wasted.

7. The Anonymous People

This addiction recovery documentary looked at the growing substance issues millions of Americans are going through. It followed people recovering from addiction — from executives to volunteer workers. The main purpose of “The Anonymous People” is to break the stigma people have with addiction recovery.

The addiction recovery documentary continues to show that recovering addicts form meaningful relationships with each other. The goal is to change how people see substance abuse, addiction recovery, and the way they will respond when they find out that their loved ones are suffering from addiction.

Let Us Be Part of Your Journey to Recovery

Haven House is a reputable recovery center around Murfreesboro.

If you or a loved one is suffering from substance abuse problems, Haven House’s doors are open. We accept men aged 18 to 45 years old. We provide a 12-step, faith-based recovery treatment. We host several therapy sessions every week, including group counseling, group spiritual/mental exercises, Bible study, church service, work therapy, and more. Give us a call or pay us a visit at our facility in Hartsville, Tennessee.