TOUGHING IT OUT

As the Federal Government tries to shutdown Vancouver's controversial heroin safe-injection site, Toughing It Out investigates another controversial treatment program in Vancouver that provides free heroin to addicts.

In Canada, there's only one way to treat heroin addiction: methadone. But it doesn't fit every addict's needs. After several European countries successfully concluded their research, doctors here in Canada decided to begin a trial: treat heroin addicts with heroin. The idea is to stabilize addicts, get them off the streets and into a decent place to live, and eventually get rid of their heroin addiction. The year-long program is called NAOMI: The North American Opiate Medication Investigation.

Toughing It Out follows the intimate stories of three people, Gary and Jane in Vancouver, and Sylvain in Montreal. Viewers will witness the lives of these heroin addicts, who have struggled to be part of society. But even for the ones who qualify to become part of the medical trial, life is not so easy. They have to follow the rules to get their free dope and some just can't cope with that.

The film also features the doctors who try to deal with the hardship of working with heroin addicts, while convincing the authorities that providing the drug to heroin addicts is a good way to assist in ridding them of their addiction.

Toughing It Out was written and directed by Helene Pichette, and produced by Monique Simard for Montreal-based Productions Virage, in association with Radio-Canada and CBC Newsworld.