A Dark Addiction

Andrea Bruce

The Washington Post

Many coal miners in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States are deeply addicted to prescription pain medication initially prescribed to them by doctors to help with the chronic back and neck pain that goes hand-in-hand with their profession. Steam and fire light up the night sky at Jewell Smokeless coke ovens--turning local coal into coke for steel. 'Dark Addiction'

Andrea Bruce, "A Dark Addiction," in POYi Archive, Item #42920, http://archive.poy.org/index.php/items/show/42920 (accessed June 12, 2025).