‘The Opioid Diaries’: A Discussion With Photographer James Nachtwey and Senator Maggie Hassan

Photographer James Nachtwey presented a selection of his photographs from the March 5, 2018 issue of TIME Magazine, “The Opioid Diaries,” at an event Tuesday evening at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Nachtwey described the lives and struggles of individuals and communities behind the images, and related his experiences in pursuing the project. Nachtwey, who spent much of his career as a war photographer, said that on reading about the extent of the opioid epidemic in America, “I knew it was time to revisit my own country. What I found was an American nightmare.”

Nachtwey’s presentation was followed by a discussion with New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan, who addressed the scope of the national opioid epidemic, the efforts underway at the local level to address it and the initiatives and challenges to action on the national level. Hassan said the U.S. is “sick with this epidemic,” and called on President Donald Trump to fill open leadership positions in drug policy and enforcement in his administration, and to fund multiple programs to aid prevention, treatment and recovery.

Watch their discussion above.