actually up. mainly low income white communities with high unemployment and higher rates of diabetes and arthritis. in an extreme case, prosecutors say oklahoma doctor regan nickels prescribed 1800 pills in a single month, leading to five fatal overdoses. she s expected to be plead not guilty to second-degree murder charges. more than 33,000 people died of opioid overdoses in 2015 alone. about half of them involved a prescription opioid. in the war against opioid abuse, some states have promising results, between 2010 and 2015, prescriptions decreased by 85% in ohio. 80% in florida. and 62% in kentucky. things like a broken leg, or things like a kidney stone don t always require opioids. reporter: the emergency department in new york s city medical center started a program five years ago to replace dangerous opioids with alternatives. these are people calling you up and saying, i m in so much