staring a porpoise right in the face. oh, just got me again. a once top-secret military program that's enlisting animals to protect the country. but first, inside a polygamous sect. >> we're dealing with the exploitation of children of young girls for sexual purposes. >> reporter: gary tuchman takes you where most people never go -- exposing polygamy's dirty secrets. >> reporter: the scenery is spectacular and the polygamist families who live here along the uft-arizona border have been able to live their lives with little interference from the outside world for generations. stepping into their world is both jarring and surreal. how many brothers and sisters do you have? >> i have 18. >> reporter: albert, how many brothers and sisters do you have? >> 22. >> i am the oldest of 32. >> reporter: these are not members of the salt lake city-based mormon church known as the church of ladder day saints. they belong instead to a splinter group who believe in polygamy and call themselves the fundamental church of ladder day saints, or flds. do you think you can win this case? >> reporter: spiritual leader, warren jeffs, has been jailed now for nearly five years an faces trial on three charges including aggravated sexual assault on a child, charges to which he's pled not guilty. the people of the flds are convinced that there is nobody on earth closer to god than warren jeffs. they believe that jeffs, even behind bars, is the mouthpiece of god, that words he utters are divinely inspired. law enforcement authorities have long been worried what would happy if jeffs told his followers to do something violent and dangerous. >> i've never seen it like this before. i've been here for seven years and i've never seen things so unstable and so lawless. i consider this the most lawless town in the country. >> reporter: sam brower is a private investigator and writer who's been following the polygamous sect closely for nearly a decade and who's written a book about the flds called "prophet's prey." do you think there are comparisons to be made like to the taliban or the mafia? >> absolutely. i mean even the utah attorney general has stated that the flds in this community is run taliban-style and that's really all the flds church is, in my opinion, is an organized crime family. >> reporter: attorneys for the break-away sect say that kind of assertion is nonsense, the polygamist leaders and their followers who live here simply want to be left alone to practice their religion the way they see fit. but real violence, according to some neighbors, has crept into the community. this burned down patch of grass in the town of colorado city, arizona is evidence of what authorities say is a very disturbing example. arizona state investigators say flds leaders burned dozens of books here, rather than let an open library be built, because they believe those books were collected by infidels. >> they burnt things that didn't belong to them. they broke and entered the building. >> reporter: former flds member stephanie culgrove says she worked for more than two years to cloekt books for the library, a library independent of the church. what do they do with the books? >> they hauled them out of the building. >> then what did they do with them? >> we assumed that they were burnt. we saw a massive bonfire and assumed all of this was on the pile because we saw books in the burning pile. >> reporter: this is the remnants of one of the charred books. looks like a medical textbook. county investigators say the local police in colorado city are all members of the flds and have ignored the arson. those local police have not returned our calls. it's the county authorities who have worked to crack down on the church. so you're with the county and they're the local police, and normally 99.9% of the time police all work together. you don't work with these guys, do you? >> not at all. can't even get them to talk to me most of the time. >> reporter: that's because, according to mohave county chief investigator gary ingals, police here obey the religious leaders first, civilian leaders second. in your eyes, is their allegiance more to the constitution of the united states or to warren jeffs, their prophet? >> i believe that their allegiance is probably more to the church. i know they are required to swear allegiance to warren in one of their church meetings here not too long ago. >> reporter: some say if you do not side with warren jeffs, there can be trouble. so are you afraid for your safety sometimes? >> well, yeah, sometimes you get a little worried. they've killed some of my animals. >> reporter: isaac wyler has lived here for years, and until he split from warren jeffs, life was more or less trank quill. not now. >> at one time there was six dead cats in my window wells. a lot of times you go out an there's a dead cat or dead pij are or dead duck. >> you feel that's a threat to intimidate you? >> yeah, definitely for intimidation. but i don't intimidate that easy. >> reporter: attorneys for the flds did not return calls for comment on either the book burning or the alleged intimidation. >> please don't point that at me. >> reporter: during my frequent reporting trips to colorado city, we were often made to feel unwelcome. >> no cameras allowed here. sorry, this is private property. >> reporter: and there's still a great deal of allegiance to the leader who's long been in jail. but that may be changing. just ahead -- a man who was once one of warren jeffs' most loyal followers now tells a very different story. >> he in his own words is admitted to what he is, and he said he's a very wicked man and he confessed to doing some very terrible things. phillips' caplets use magnesium, an ingredient that works more naturally with your colon than stimulant laxatives, for effective relief of constipation without cramps. thanks. [ professor ] good morning students. today, we're gonna... backed by the superguarantee®? find a business only& suonline.s®. on your phone. or in the book. go to superpages®. and let the good guys save the day. be kind to your eyes with transitions lenses. transitions adapt to changing light so you see your whole day comfortably and conveniently while protecting your eyes from the sun. ask your eyecare professional which transitions lenses are right for you. ask your eyecare professional for your transitions certificate of authenticity for your chance to win instant monthly prizes or our $20,000 grand prize! agents, what did we learn here today? that lint balls are extremely flammable... ...that's why it's important to regularly clean and inspect your vents. correct. [ male announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers ♪ bum, ba-da-bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ any questions? no. you know... ♪ we're not magicians ♪ we can't read your mind ♪ ♪ read your mind ♪ we need your questions ♪ each and every kind ♪ every kind ♪ will this react with my other medicine? ♪ ♪ hey, what are all these tests even for? ♪ ♪ questions are the answer ♪ yeah ♪ oh eldorado, texas. this tiny town is where warren jeffs is now in jail as he stands trial. while jeffs has been here, he's conone thing above all el -- he spent a lot of time on the phone. this past month, how much money has he spent, would you estimate, on phone cards and phone calls? >> roughly $3,000. >> reporter: and a similar pattern when he was for a time in a different texas jail a few dozen miles away. >> i would say probably in excess of $10,000. >> and is it unusual to spend that much money? have you ever had an inmate spend that much money on phone cards? >> no. no. >> reporter: authorities tell cnn jeffs has been given cash by his loyal followers to pay for the calls and jailers say they monitor what's said. mostly lengthy sermons and detailed instructions to his followers a few miles away at his isolated zion ranch, as well as to his followers in the twin polygamist towns of colorado city, arizona and utah. if that sounds like he's still running the church from jail, he is. insiders say he's even been excommunicating those who disagree with limb. but what it hasn't done is stop a growing feud between those who still believe in him and those who now believe he's a child molester. >> i would like all of you to think if you were standing here today -- >> reporter: three years ago, willie jess sufficient was one of jeffs' most trusted lieutenants. he even showed me around the compound in west texas that was raided by texas rangers to show cnn that there was nothing inherently bad taking place. >> so where are the carrots? >> well, there. >> reporter: today jessup says warren jeffs has betrayed his church. >> and he said is he a very wicked man and he confused to doing some very terrible things, including molesting his daughter and sister and others. i think his own words describe himself. >> reporter: jessup is talking about diaries submitted as evidence that he says were left by warren jeffs after his arrest in las vegas five years ago. he's talking about these. pictures showing jeffs embracing and kissing young girls no more than 12 or 13 years old, jess sufficient says. >> his conduct will never be sanctioned by me. i don't think there's anyone in my church that will ever sanction what he has done. it's just a matter of time until they come to terms and figure out how to cope with what he has done. >> reporter: according to authorities in both texas and canada, jeffs orchestrated what canadian police have called a child trafficking ring. sending as many as 30 young girls ages 12 or 13 from a polygamist compound in british columbia across the u.s. border to flds enclaves in utah, arizona and texas. >> this is very serious allegations here where essentially in layman's terms we're dealing with the exploitation of children, of young girls, for sexual pumpses anded procurement of sex with girls under the ages of 18. >> reporter: and here is that canadian compound. now it's self-split into factions. one faction loyal to jeffs, the other loyal to this man, winston blackmore. he is a long-time polygamist leader who does not want to believe accounts of child brides moving away from canada into the united states. >> i've heard those stories. just different people have come like you're come and told me about them but i would feel very disappointed if they were actually true. >> reporter: a woman who did not want her face shown told us it is true. she says she has first-hand knowledge. three of her nieces were among those sent away to be married to older men in the u.s. >> it angers me that 12 and 13 year-olds would be taken away and given to an older man and that he'd consummate their marriage vows. it angers me. i mean they're just children. you know? it's not right. >> reporter: many girls, investigators say, ended up here at this flds compound in west texas where we tried to get some answers. [ phone ringing ]. >> hello. it's gary tuchman with cnn and we're doing a story about warren jeffs. cars and trucks passed in and out, but no one came out to answer questions. i can ask you a quick question? warren jeffs' attorney declined to comment. the people who live on this ranch in one of the most isolated parts of texas are not only loyal to warren jeffs, they're the most loyal of the loyal. you're only invited to live here if the prophet himself approves. and despite his long stay in jails in utah, arizona and texas, jail time amounted to more than five years so far, that's what warren jeffs is to people who believe in him -- a leader to be followed and obeyed. he's pled not guilty to the most recent charges against him of sexual assault of a child and bigamy. officials of the mainstream mormon church reject jeffs and his practices. but within the flds, there seem to be more people supporting warren jeffs than those trying to unseat him. how long that will last is anyone's guess, but from his jail cell here in texas, there's little doubt jeffs is still controlling the destiny of the nation's largest group of believers in polygamy. just listen to this young believer in arizona. tell me what warren jeffs means to you. >> i don't know what you mean by that. >> how important is he to you? >> everything? >> he's everything to you? >> um-hmm. >> and are you married yet? >> i'm not. >> do you want to be married some day? >> course i do. >> do you want to have sister wives, too? >> course i do. >> how many sister wives would be perfect do you think in your family? >> as many as i can. next on "cnn presents" -- the new face of america's pill epidemic. innocent infants. >> if you are pregnant and you know that it is harming the babies, why don't you just quit using the pills? >> it's just not that easy. you feel like you're going to die. and later -- >> caught me like a bear in a bear trap. >> caught by the u.s. navy's underwater recruits -- marine mammals. it was not until the university of phoenix that i was able to work full-time, be a mom, and go to school. the opportunits that i had at the university of phoenix, dealing wh profesonals teaching things that they were doing every day, got me to where i am today. i'm mayor cherie wood, i'm responsible for the largest urban renewal project in utah, and i am a phoenix. 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[ding] [fans whirring] announcer: chill raw and prepared foods promptly. one in 6 americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. >> reporter: from the outside, they look more like nightclubs than doctors' offices. >> hey [ bleep ] [ bleep ]. >> reporter: and they're not too happy to see our cameras. we're here in a parking lot of one of these pain clinics. >> get out of here. get out of here. leave us the [ bleep ] alone. >> reporter: broward county, florida is filled with pain clinics. doctors making millions doling out prescription opioids, also known as heroin in a pill. >> roxies, blues. >> i can get hundreds hundreds of pills a day going from one doctor to the next, then they sell tell on the street. >> reporter: authorities are struggling to shut down these pill mills, but not fast enough. more and more people keep dieing from prescription drug overdoses. >> these doctors are killing our children every single day. look at us, we're desperate, we're begging you. >> reporter: as one generation succumbs to prescription opioids, a new generation of addicts is being born. >> we saw the number of crack babies that died and this is just another version of that. we all need to be concerned. >> good morning, ladies. i'm jessica. i feel good today. casey goes for her follow-up appointment at the doctor so hopefully they'll say she's doing better and i hope everybody has a blessed day. >> this is casey's bed. like i said, she's a princess so -- >> and that's -- >> that's the track when she was born. that's her neb lieser. just put that on her face and turn it on. kind of loud. this is why we're going to the doctor's, that nasty cough. that nasty cough. >> reporter: for most of her pregnancy, jessica flooded her bo body, and therefore casey's, with the prescription painkiller, oxycodone, a synthetic version of hay heroin, these prescription pills that emerged as the nation's fastest growing drug problem.eroin, these prescription pills that emerged as the nation's fastest growing drug problem. jessica fears the drug use is responsible for casey's frequent respiratory infections. >> with my other two kids they were never sick this young so it's kind of new to me. god comforts us in a way a loving parent comforts a flight frightened child. >> reporter: two years ago jessica a husband died. a friend gave jessica a couple oxycodone pills to numb the pain. >> when i started i was taking like one to two and within a six-month period i was taking 30. 30, 30 milligram -- snorting them. >> reporter: jessica was getting her pills from florida's numerous pill mills. and then she got pregnant. if you are pregnant and you know that it is harming the baby and you know it could possibly cause birth defects, why don't you just quit using the pills? it's just not that easy. you feel like you're going to die. >> reporter: this recovery center used to be filled with pregnant women who had abused crack cocaine. now it's pills. when did the first patient start coming in addicted to pills? >> okay. in 2000, this is all cocaine. >> the blue line. >> the blue line versus primary drug of choice prescription. and the crossover was some time in 2009. >> reporter: pregnant women addicted to crack are encouraged to quit. but with opiods, babies get just as addicted as the mother. if she quits cold turkey, the baby could die in utero from withdraw withdrawal. when were you going through withdrawal did you feel casey was going through withdrawal? >> absolutely. >> how is that? >> she would like curl up because it was in the latter part of the pregnancy, she would crawl up in like a ball and my stomach would be like rock solid and she wouldn't move. i mean you could feel it. you could just feel that she was in torment. it's really sad. you know? to know that your baby's in pain while you're in pain. then you just feel horrible because you did it. you know? did you it. you put yourself there. >> reporter: jessica was weaned off the pills before casey was born. those that aren't give birth to babies who begin to suffer with their first breath. so you actually have to detox the babies. >> right. they go through their withdrawal symptoms, yes. they start out by having feeding intolerances, diarrhea, you can tell that they're crampy, they're miserable, they're irritable. they sweat. they can have rapid breathing. sometimes they can even have seizures. >> reporter: according to state health records, during the first half of 2010 alone, 635 florida babies were born addicted. you're saying that the number of babies you've seen addicted to prescription drugs doubled last year. >> yes. there are some situations where we have three or four babies at a time. it just makes everybody a little reflective and a little sad about the whole situation. >> reporter: even more troubling, researchers still don't know what the long term effects of opiod use will be on infants. and neither does jessica. >> because i know that i'm going through stuff getting off of the pills. so what's she going through because she's just a little baby? and she can't talk and she can't tell me how she feels. i want to make sure that she doesn't want for anything, that she doesn't have to hurt anymore than i already put her through. because she didn't deserve that. she's a princess. coming up -- we're going to see her drug dealer. he's got tear drops tattooed on his eyes. >> i own got 12 until later. >> reporter: we see first-hand how the pill trade works. [ male announcer ] get ready for the left lane. the volkswagen autobahn for all event is back. right now, get a great deal on new volkswagen models, including the jetta, awarded a top safety pick by the iihs. that's the power of german engineering. hurry in and lease the jetta s for just $179 a month. ♪ visit vwdealer.com today. backed by the superguarantee®? find a business only& suonline.s®. on your phone. or in the book. go to superpages®. and let the good guys save the day. hello, everyone. i'm don lemon at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. >> and i'm wolf blitzer