Beatle mania, 50 years later. New york was jumpin. And we were jumpin because we had landed in new york and we were in america. There was nothing more far out than that good evening, thank you for joining us. Joie chen is on assignment. Im josh rushing. Oscar winning actor Philip Seymour hoffman was laid to rest, the ceremony was private. But his death apparently over heroine, has sparked unrest, over the heart of the problem which lies in a place that has a long dark history with heroin. The city where hoffman died, there in new york city, the drug is cheaper than anywhere else. According to the New York Daily News you can buy 100 packets of american for 400. Basically four bucks a bag. Thats where america tonights Christof Putzel went to get the answer to the questions, whats behind the heroin spike. The city of new york has a heroin problem. Heroin related deaths have increased 84 in the past four years. Heroin is now cheaper more potent and easier to get than ever. The result is a city reeling from a new epidemic. New york has become a major transit point for the drug to reach a whole new generation of users. Organized heroin mills are set up in all five of the cities boroughs creating a gateway to the outskirts and beyond. Taking the five kilograms to the mill, the mill will have seven or eight workers, they will get a bunch of cut, baking soda or any other kind of powder, mix it with the heroin and make more. The mills are often hided in secluded middle class neighborhoods that provide easy access to smuggling routes up and down the northeast corridor. You see all kinds of ways that people smuggle heroin. They are ingenious with some of the schemes they come up with. They found these build abears that were stuffed with heroin. There were other cases where heroin was stuffed inside a prosthetic leg. The symptoms are all too familiar. In the 1970s heroin had a visible hold on the city, the drug of choice for celebrities and street people alike. They had their own dealers, the big black dealers that controlled harlem. In harlem there was a huge presence. You could see people lined up ten, 20 deep on a sidewalk buying an a sidewalk. But by the 1980s heroins popularity had declined. The negativity of people dying with overdoses, needles in their arms, i think it really did slow down its use. Fastforward 20 years and many fear theres a kind of generational amnesia on the grip heroin once had on new york. The widespread use of prescription drugs has created a new market for heroin, among those addicted to opiate painkillers. The stretch of interstate known to motte other commuters as just another artery to the city but to police, as heroin highway. Heroin is clearly marketed to a younger clientele. We caught up with tina wolf who started the only Needle Exchange program in new york. We do work in long island, how to recognize an overdose, reverse an overdose and give them a kid to administer to somebody who has overdosed on opiates. Tina passes out clean syringes to addicts. People dont realize that you dont just transmit hiv or aids by sharing are syringes but by sharing a tourniquet or a cooker. We want you to use new supplies every single time. Tina drives to deliver clean needles to her clients. Another face of heroin changing. Much of the case in long island. A lot of them are working, they have jobs, they cant get to you from 12 00 p. M. To 3 00 p. M. You say a lot of the heroin addicts have 9 to 5 jobs and thats why they cant get to the Needle Exchange because they cant make those hours . Absolutely. The needles that tina is passing outs are 28 gauge, smaller end, particularly thin, and that is because a lot of the people in the area that are addicted to heroin are quite young and their veins are not yet callused. They find this type of needle is a lot easier and more comfortable to shoot up with. Tina believes giving heroin addicts access to clean needles is the only thing keeping theam live. Were them alive. One person a day on heroin . To a failed overdose to heroin or prescription opiates. At Phoenix House almost half of the patients are in treatment for opiate addiction. Unlike the lower income addicts, who used to make up the majority of Phoenix Houses addicts,ful are like coe, a middle class professional who started on heroin, after prescription painkiller addiction. I was wrestling and my junior year in high school i had hurt my knee and that was when i was first introduced to perkocets and oyats. He battled addiction to opiates and when he couldnt get it legally he turned to the streets. He called his dealer in a panic. I said look man, i dont care what you got odo, i dont care if you got go to your grandmas house and take them out of her bottle. Sick thinking, behaviors that are not really me. But i needed whatever i could to get that feeling to go away. And that was when i was introduced to heroin. He pretty much told me, look, i cant do anything for you. As far as pain meds. But i can give you something that makes you feel better. And he never said the word. And i didnt care. To be honest with you i really didnt care what he was bringing me. It was just the feeling that i wasnt going to be sick anymore. What marco discovered is heroin was more potent and more affordable than pills but they end it would cost him almost everything. What people would consider to be a decent life, beautiful wife, beautiful child, new born, it spiraled down, spiraled down in a matter of three months my life just completely went in the garbage. Today marco has been sober for almost 90 days and has opted to remain at Phoenix House for another month. Taking strengths from the lessons of others who came before him. Many of us cling to our fears doubts or selfloathing because there is distorted reality and familiar pain. It seems better to embrace what we know than to let go of it for the unknown. You see people walk these walls for the stairway. Its Pretty Amazing from a doctor to a lawyer to people who are multimillionaires. Do you think the face of the heroin addict is changing . Absolutely. I dont think im in maybe a stereotypical drug user but i am. There are so many people out there on the news these days you know that are dying, you know, and over heroin use, you know and i dont want to be a statistic. That was america tonights Christof Putzel reporting. And were joined by rusty payne from the Drug Enforcement administration. Thank you for having me. We saw the guy named marco, who was first looked by pain pills and when he couldnt get the pills anymore he went to heroin. When you see less elicit pills on the market are more people turning to heroin now . Unfortunately it is a common tale. Americans have become more and more dependent and addicted to prescription opiates, painkillers and when those arent available you want that opiatelike high and you turn to heroin. A lot of heroin addicts, start out with pills and they go back and forth depending onibility availability and price. Unfortunately we live in a country where heroin is cheaper and more available than prescription opiates, pills. Why is it so cheap, whats driving that . I think production in mexico and other parts of the world, particularly mexico and columbia, especially mexico, we seized more heroin at the u. S. Border than five years ago. Four times more. Whats driving that, weather and a bumper crop or whats going on . They see a demand. They see an intense increase in heroin demand in the United States because of this opiate spike in addiction rates for painkillers in the u. S. What about the mix of heroin and fen fent fentanyl things li . You see a lot of fentanyl, you ready dont know what youre getting, you dont know the pure city level, you dont know whats in it. Theres no such thing as a bad batch of heroine. Heroine is death quite possibly, regardless of whats in it. You dont know what youre getting, the Lab Environment with which it was manufactured overseas or south of the border. You dont know whats in it, dont know how the body is going to respond. American is played with chemicals that have no reason to be in your body. Morphine, opium, not good. Is the dea tracking where there are overdoses from heroin . Typically when theres a heroin overdose in a city or a town we might be asked to take parts in an investigation. Sometimes that investigation may be led by dea, sometimes assisting our states, locals. Sometimes like new york were involved trying to find out the sources of supply, going against the facilitators. Its led by these Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization he, who control distribution and most of the American Drug markets. Hmm. Is there is there more heroin or the streets now, because of u. S. Troops pulling back in southern afghanistan . No, thats not even related, we dont see afghan heroin very much in the United States. We see heroin from columbia and from mexico. Production of heroin in mexico is way up significantly in the last few years, we are seeing more and more of the mexican product here on the streets of the United States. We have reported significantly about the i95 corridor, a lot of the eastern seaboard users. There are hot spots in the country . Ive talked to prison officials in west virginia, they told me heroin use is the biggest problem in the rural elements of the country. How about other places, dallas, cincinnati, los angeles . All of the above. We are talking about a 40 overdose rate between 2006 and 2010 we lost 45 more people to overdose. Went from 2100 to 3100. Huge increase. I know it was a 45 increase. Fair to caught it an epidemic . Yes, fair to call it an epidemic. Heroin is right there with it. Rusty, appreciate you being here. Los angeles county jail system. Earlier this wee week maircht sa tonight spoke to a man who claimed he was beaten up in jail. A look at michael okwus report. I have four or five officers come around me. I hear this crack. Thats what happened says leo figueroa when he went to visit his brother at one of the most notorious jails in america. The mens central jail in downtown los angeles. In july 2010, figueroa got a phone call from his younger brother juan, who was arrested and being held at the jail. Your brother calls you. Yes, sir. From jail. Yes, sir. And tells you his teeth are busted and what else . His ribs are broken. Did he give you any idea how he sustained those injuries . Los angeles sheriffs. That the los angeles sheriffs did that and did you believe him . Yes. After getting what he calls the run around, he approached a deputy in the visiting area. So began his own ordeal at the happened of the Los Angeles County sheriffs department. I heard, stop resisting, stop resisting, i yelled, im in handcuffs. This is an x ray of his arm shortly after this incident. Is there pain . All the time. A place where beatings and broken boangs have been the preferred bones have been the preferred method of disciplining inmates. Culture condoned by the departments brass. Condoned by the leader, lee baca, baca has stepped down. Today we have learned that the l. A. County grand jury has dieted two more are deputies, kicked, punched and even maced a chained inmate. The deputies are accused of covering up the abuse with flawed reports. 20 currently and former deputies have been indicted on corruption and civil rights ordinances. Breathing on borrowed time. How this box can mean the different. Difference. A all about life and death, 247. They specialize in Lung Transplant surgeries, cutting edge world of medicine. Techknowtechknows shini sa represents. The organ care system, also known as the ocs. The device allows vital organs like the heart or lung to stay warm and functioning outside of the human body. If approved by the fda, it could change the way donor organs are transported. Dr. Michael smith is a surgical director of Lung Transplantation at st. Josephs. What weve done is taken out of the donors body and put it into an ice chest. But on ice, limited window of six hours before theyre unsuitable for transplant. That period of time there is no blood flow or oxygen getting to those lungs so thats called ischemia. The lungs the moment they leave the donors body those lungs are desert rating, arent they . Thats right. The lungs dont like that. The transplant team is on call 247. When a donor becomes available, they rush into action and retrieve the organs needed to save the life of one of their patients. Patients like 69yearold victoria bloomfield. We were gorgeous. Hmm. Brian and vick yah have been married for 47 years. Together they raised three children. They kept active lives up until three years ago. When victoria was diagnosed with ideopathic pulmonary phi borrows is, a chronic and ultimately fatal lung disease. Psychologically are you ready for the transplant . Im ready for it. I dont have any option, there is no option. I either get the transplant or i just deteriorate. Just got off the plane and jumped in a cab at 2 30 in the morning and were heading for st. Josephs hospital where vicky is waiting for her double Lung Transplant. Im a little apprehensive. There is one more critical player yet to arrive. You can watch the Surgical Team in action, and witness victorias amazing journey, this sunday on techknow at 7 30. Coming up. Sensation known as beatle mania, its been 50 years. Well hear from ringo star as he reflects on the moment that changed history forever. Familes driven from their land. We have to get out of here. Now the people are fighting back. They dont wanna show whats really going on fault lines columbia the fight for land only on Al Jazeera America real reporting that brings you the world. Giving you a real global perspective like no other can. Real reporting from around the world. This is what we do. Al jazeera america. Its hard to believe but its been 50 years since four brits with mop top haircuts set foot on u. S. Soil for the first time. Thousands of screaming girls mobbed the fab 4 as they descended the jet at new york airport. Ringo star reflected on the infestation known as beatle mania. Even 50 years on, they knew where they were exactly, when it happened, as the beatles landed at the new jfk airport. An antedote to the u. S. Sadness. We could feel how badly america needed the beatles. New york was jumpin and we were jumping that we had landed in new york, in america. There was nothing more far out than that. We were in our 20s. We were all lads. Its incredible. I felt even on the plane, new york was pulling us down, come on, come on. I had a great time. The beatles had a singular, and head on look at america. We were number 1, we were living on the plaza, the whole floor. We didnt know ed sullivan. He had seen us, coming from sweden. He booked us. When we came here it was up what the country saw was one of the most memorable tv appearances in history and from the Ed Sullivan Show it was on to d. C. The first live gig was in the round, it was like a are boxing ring. My part didnt go round, i had to do it myself, i was playing here and the band were going round. I could see them doing it, oh ill fix it. 50 years from then, ringo says, its the songs no, not the hair cutle, thhaircuts. The music. Ringo was recently honored by the peace and love organization. My second son had just been born and whether i got home there was a message from george and a message from john, we just met this guy, were going to wales, you got ocome. Okay. Did you think they were nuts when you layered that . No. But we went to wales. The first time i met him, this man shines, you know . We went to india, we had some lfns anlefnslessons and it works morning. Whats paul like when he doesnt meditate . Angry bastard. We had that moment of peace and love, now its in japan, its in spain, you know, taking off. 7th of july the day they run with the bulls. You have to go to pamplona. Ton 7th of july . I didnt know that. You learn something every day. Ringos youthful enthusiasm remains, michael sure. Al jazeera america. Los angeles. Did you know about their First American gig . This room was packed. You know, the screaming was so loud and so constant, i talked to people who were ten rows back and they couldnt here the lyrics. Well bring you the story of the first beatles concert and the lives they changed. Right here on america tonight. Thats it on america tonight. If you would like to comment, log on to power website, aljazeera. Com americatonight. Join the conversation on our twitter and facebook page. Good night. Its taken us a day to trek to the small village of mulatos in colombias uraba region. Its taken us a day to trek to the small village of mulatos. We are up here in the mountains, and this is where colombias war has
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