Overdosed: The Real Story Behind America’s Opioid Epidemic
​Screening and Discussion
Virtual Program (Zoom)

Overdosed highlights the troubling turmoil of the deadly American opioid crisis as it unfolds in the small town of Petersburg in rural West Virginia, the state hardest hit by this epidemic. Through interviews with former drug dealers, over-prescribing doctors, DEA agents and local community members, Mary Sue Connolly uncovers a shocking narrative of the pharmaceutical industry’s intentional plan to target opioid sales to an impoverished, under-served community and the resulting addiction, prison and overdose cycles of its citizens. Overdosed provides viewers access to the corporate, profit-driven dark side of this crisis, while revealing the core humanity of its survivors. The documentary exposes key elements about the rapid progress of this deadly epidemic, and the ways communities are now coping with its destruction.When the opioid epidemic impacted the filmmakers own family, Director/Producer Mary Sue Connolly put her career in television on hiatus to devote all her resources to the Overdosed project. “I had to do something,” she said, and took her small family on the road to investigate.The result is Overdosed, a documentary that will wake you up to the tragedy of a small town ravaged by the epidemic and inspire you to get involved in finding solutions.

The Byrd Center is hosting a virtual screening and discussion of Overdosed with support from the League of Women Voters of Jefferson County, Greater Recovery and Community Empowerment (GRaCE), and the American Conservation Film Festival. We thank our community partners in bringing this documentary and the film's director/producer, Mary Sue Connolly, to us for this conversation.

The film will be available to view 24 hours prior to our live Zoom conversation with Connolly on Thursday, February 11 at 7:30pm. You must RSVP; follow this link.