an act of god. i'm ray suarez, thank you for joining us for "inside story". >> on "america tonight": gambling on the future. >> welcome to the beautiful boardwalk in atlantic city, new jersey. my name is don gotti, i'm the mayor and glad to welcome you here again. "america tonight" on the winners and losers in atlantic city's latest high stakes bid. and accelerating addiction. >> when it gets scary for you, when you hear the report about uptick in deaths. >> i have burned into a lot of

these people down here. >> "america tonight's" sarah hoye, at ground zero of the opioid epidemic. america's addiction may be getting worse. thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. we know its grip is powerful and becoming more deadly now science of heroin is reaching into more communities and getting more people looked. "america tonight" has closely followed america's rappic addiction and now confirms what we've seen an explosion of death due to heroin nearly four times higher than over the last decade and on the streets, "america tonight's" sarah hoye is finding the drug trade is luring even more victims to their deaths. >> reporter: the north philly where neighborhood of kensington. from the monument that symbolizes

philadelphia. the district was once thriving now an eyesore. attracting heroin pushers and users. it's a neighborhood where the people have been forgotten and where the forgotten go to forget. >> this is the place that people choose to turn their headway from, turning a blind eye. >> one person that's not turning a blind eye is carol rochester. carol knows too well the pain of addiction. her 25-year-old son drew used to live on the kensington streets when heroin took his life. >> the first time he used heroin he was looked. i don't know the life, the euphoria. >> carol patrols the neighborhood on a daily basis, handing out food

, clothes, toilet tris. ries. >> hi michael did you get the sneakers today? >> no i didn't. >> i got you 10 and a half. >> she place the role of mom for many of the young addicts who are look to get clean, extra help and guidance. >> i'm sorry, i have to do this. god don't run from me, please. what are you doing? why are you down here? >> reporter: while many people may have given up on these lost souls, including their own families, carol refuses to do so. >> god bless you. >> reporter: she draws inspiration from her son's journey through addiction. >> everybody thought my son was,

i show his picture to people who are that close to entering addiction, i know him, yes i know he was crazy, this is him now and they're like wow, and i've gotten that response just like that. wow i'm like yeah. if he can do it why don't you think you can? >> reporter: why do you care? >> because of my son. i don't know, unless you have lived this, this isn't something i would wish on anybody, i seriously wouldn't. but through his addiction i've bng the person ibecome today. >> sadly carol is not alone in her experience. across the country, heroin use is up. in 2013, more than 8,000 people died. many seeking a cheaper high used a form of heroin laced with a poa ent poet eningredient. we went to temple school of

medicine where we went dr. ellen, director of the center for social research. >> many people start out being prescribed an opiate, for some reason they take more of it when they no longer need it and they become dependent on a prescription opiate. sometimes they find it's cheap are and easier to get heroin. >> heroin is often cut with fentanol. used to treat very severe pain associated with cancer. >> why fentanol. >> it gets into the brain very very rapidly but in addition it's so potent that very small quantities are needed to produce the same high and many of the drug dealers push their products as being a more intense high, a

more potent heroin. so they use fentanol to improve the, quote, potency of the product they are selling. >> and how much more potent would it be? >> it's on the order of 20 times more potent than heroin. >> in philadelphia last year fentanil -- laced heroin was found in 20% of the people who oded. >> an upstick in heroin deaths. this stuff is serious. >> it's deadly. i've grown to love a lot of these people down here. >> it's this fear that keeps carol committed for those in the darkness leading them into the light. and as long as the heroin ep

indexic don't grow, carol will continue to patrol the streets of kensington. >> you deserve better. >> i deserve a lot better. a lot of people do, they just don't know it. >> instilling hope in those who need it most. >> give me a hug honey. come here sweet cheeks . it's okay. you can get the hell out of here right? >> reporter: hope that they ask break free from heroin's deadly grip. >> "america tonight's" sarah hoye joins us. sarah, i think people think of drug dealers, drug deals happening at the lowest level but they don't understand this is an enormous industry. >> this is a huge industry. joie we're talking about the heroin industry in america bringing home $27 billion.

now by comparison, box office sales last year were just over $10 billion. so that's telling you not only is this industry huge, this is touching multiple levels of people's lives from those who are rich to those who are in the middle to those who may be even in the lower class. heroin reaches everybody. >> we are seeing that in the statistics of death and addiction happening all over the country in all kinds of communities but then as any industry would, this is an industry that wants to reach out in new ways, find new products as it were to attract more customers, more consumers and more people who become addicted and dead. >> you're absolutely right. what is the ultimate goal of being a drug dealer? you want to have the best clients. what is being done is heroin is being cut with fentanol, it is extremely extremely potent. it's make heroin 10 to 20% more

potent just by cutting it with this drug. >> this really is a cycle then a lot of the opioid addiction, going back to fentanol, which was originally a prescription medication. >> you're absolutely right. this is dangerous hitting people where it hurts this is disrupting families this is disrupting homes this is extremely dangerous. >> "america tonight's" sarah hoye. next, the high price of a fix. the drug that can save the lives of addicts and why it's often just out of reach. later, a roll of the dice. atlantic city's latest plan to remake itself and who can get left out of the big win. and, free at 50, what happens when older prisoners age out of

the city at aljazeera.com/americatonight.

>> on the heels of that upsurge of heroin overdose, there is an antidote. "america tonight's" lori jane gliha found out it's help that often comes too late. >> it's the worst nightmare that a parent could ever go through. >> reporter: renee's son alex had been clean for six months and was home for the holidays. alex had become addicted to oxy codone. thought he was finally turning his life around at age 28. it was a rainy night last

january that would be list last night at home. >> at 4:00 in the morning one of the neighbor boys was screaming for me to wake up, that alex stopped breathing. >> alex had overdosed inside her home. >> alex went to the hospital and he was not mentally going to ever be the same so we had to make the decision whether you wanted to resuscitate limb or not, which was a hard decision. >> alex might have been able to be brought back to life with this, often referred to as that that narcan. members of his department were first on the scene responding to renee's 911 call. gist weeks later, police would be trained and equipped with the drug that could have saved alex.

>> if we get to the scene first we can administer it. we have standing orders to do so. our policy is here, we are authorized by policy to administer it. at this point whenever we are dosing, seconds count. >> maloxone has been around for decades, but authorities are turning oan easy to use nasal spray of the drug. a use which is not approved 50 fda and considered off-label by the government. maryland is among dozens of states that now allow law enforcement to carry naloxone . a law also absolves responsibility for those who administer the drug like law enforcement. leading to huge profits for make are amphistar its stock jumped

70% since it went public last june. both the price increase and the stock jump have become known to legislators. the rapid increase in the cost of this lifesaving medication in such a short time frame is a significant public health concern they wrote. "america tonight" made repeated requests for comment by the pharmaceutical company, all went unanswered. in the past amphistar has said the cost increase is due to the rising cost of raw materials and labor. marilyn is promised to keep maloxone with her at all times, desperately hope she does not have to relive her latest nightmare. maryland congressman cummings, forcing lawmakers to

take aggressive action overcharging for maloxone and taking advantage of the addiction crisis. next roll of the dice, atlantic city deals with the future but who is left with the losing hand. and thursday, a spark of evil. >> there may be eight ten people out there committing arsons. >> arsonists? >> could be out there. yes. >> sarah hoye in the california hot zone, arson alley thursday on "america tonight." >> [crowd chanting] hell no gmo. >> they're slamming a technology that could be used to solve problems for people who desperately need it. >> they get exited about technology whether it's in their phone or in their car, so why is it so weird on their plate? >> something's going into food that shouldn't really be there.

>> techknow investigates. >> you could not pay me to fake data.

>> be the bright lights of the atlantic city boardwalk once attracted visitors attracted by the big city gambling. then some went under. now a twist of fortune, looks like an economic recovery is underway. even so "america tonight's" adam may found many players have been left with a losing hand. >> reporter: tensions are escalating. >> what do we want? justice, what when do we want it, now. >> reporter: the stakes high in atlantic city new jersey. >> we say fight back! >> casino workers arrested.

protesting cuts to their benefits and salaries. fest. >> we say fight back! >> reporter: the city is make a come back but these workers say they're being left in the dust. >> we'll be back, we'll be back. >> like it's unbelievable, it is going to happen. is it really? you still have that faith that it won't happen that it won't close. >> yamari blanco is a mother of two young children. she was a housekeeping assistant. her husband a cook. both lost their jobs last year. after four of the city's casinos shut down. >> what did you tell your kids? >> i told them that my casino was closing and they were like mommy why? why they closing down? >> and then the little one said where are the people that were working there? i just told them you know we'll be okay. it's going to be okay. i mean i don't know what to tell -- i didn't know what to

tell them. >> reporter: did you think about moving and leaving atlantic city? >> i thought for a moment but then i also thought why would i leave? to start all over? when here i have my home? you know i've been here for 18 years. where aim going to go? >> atlantic city has lost more than half of its casino jobs since 2003. hemorrhaging more than 21,000 jobs. tough times on the boardwalk have left old icons like the trump applause empty. dreams of a luxurious reinvention now moth balled casting a long shadow of disappointing across atlantic city. but atlantic city's mayor remains optimistic. >> welcome to the beautiful boardwalk of atlantic atlantic city.

my name is don guardian. i'm here to welcome you again. >> "america tonight" met mayor guardian last year. >> the beautiful building has got to be sore for you to look like. >> absolutely, it represents at least 3,000 jobs we don't have and the best restaurants and clubs we don't have. we're trying to get it open again. >> it's still up in the air? >> it's still up in the air. this time next year we got omake sure revel is open. >> the ones that are reopening, with revenue up thanks to less competition. still the atlantic city area has an unemployment rate 30 times the national average. >> reporter: how are casino workers faring in this revelation of atlantic city? >> if you are in the existing casinos you did well this year. the numbers were up but a lot of

casinos cut back to part time workers so they lost their health benefits. i'm concerned about that. we need to be concerned about everyone that is a resident here. >> now all eyes are on the trump taj mahal. one of the be city's largest employers. now it's a concern between the workers and the new owner. billionaire karl icahn. icahn says he's fighting for his employees. they see things differently. >> karl icahn is a hypocrite. he claims he's always fighting for little guy. i'm the little guy, i don't see him fighting for me. >> paul smith is one of 3,000 workers at the taj mahal. a cook for 21 years, he says the cuts to his hours and health

care will cost him $17,000 a year. a big hit when you make about $40,000 a year. do you have health care now? >> no i don't. >> reporter: how long you have have you been without health care? >> since february. i was supposed to have surgery the second week of february but since they took it away i had to cancel my surgery. i have three tears in my rotator cuff. i have herniated disks in my lower back and in my neck. to see a doctor i have to pay cash. which is taken its toll. i have to apply for welfare. trying to get state assistance for health care. and it's embarrassing. a 47-year-old man relying on the state. i can't even look at my kids in the face and say yeah, dad's applying for

medicaid. >> icahn denied al jazeera the request for an interview. time money to purposely destroy one of the few remaining employers in town. i'm baffled how they don't see their destructive efforts may well result in 3,000 less jobs. >> ten, 20 years down road we're going to have a much greater city than we have today. >> reporter: while the mayor says he is trying to save casino jobs he's turning his focus to a different kind of future for city. >> we are seeing a transition in new beginning for atlantic city. we're working on becoming a great resort but we're working on bringing a university to the at this time and medical school. that's going to be the future for residents of atlantic city. >> this isn't the first time atlantic city has had to reinvent itself.

from its beginnings as a health resort, to a mob city. elg dtle delegates said the conditions were appalling. the city was in the need of a life line. casinos on the boardwalk on the promise they would raise funds for public services across the state. fast-forward to the 1990s and the atlantic city model was being duplicated in states across the country. now atlantic city is surrounded by states that have legalized gambling. forcing city officials to, once again, find a new identity for america's original seaside playground. >> so this is part of the excitement. >> the mayor gave "america tonight" an exclusive look at the new indoor main street under construction at the caesar's pier shops.

it will feature more bars, restaurants and life entertainment. >> it's going to be an infinity pool. >> you can look right out at the ocean. >> reporter: designed to be a party palace and you won't find a single slot machine. after talking with you over the last year your plan to me sounds like diversification. is employment going to be the backbone? >> there's no single answer to make our city great. everything is important, great libations, cool bars, fine dining in clubs is all part. i really think pledges millennials are going to be the future of atlantic city. >> a toxic dream but one that might not include all of atlantic city's workers. >> atlantic city is reinventing itself, it is a shame that it's

at the cost of blood sweat and tears. how sit that my pension my health care is what is saving this casino? that doesn't add up. >> reporter: what would you tell some of these casino workers, what could you tell them? >> give us decent pay our benefits, and we'll work because we work hard. they're being greedy. be. >> reporter: a sentiment shared by thousands of workers in atlantic city. where building a career can be the biggest gamble of all, adam may, al jazeera, atlantic city. >> that's "america tonight." tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to us on twitter or facebook and come back, we'll have more of "america tonight," tomorrow.

>> wildfires lit by arsonists. >> this sounds like it happened in a flash. >> millions in damages. and the tragic human cost. >> he's not here anymore. >> find out how experts are fighting back. >> my name is imran garda the show is called third rail, when you watch this show you're gonna find us being un-afraid. the topics will fascinate you, intrigue you... >> they take this seriously... >> let me quote you... >> there's a double standard... >>...could be a hypocrite >> you're also gonna get a show that's really fair bold... never predictable... >> the should be worried about heart disease, not terrorism... >> i wouldn't say that at all... >> you'll see a show that has an impact on the conventional youare >> on al jazeera america >> technology...it's a vital part of who we are... >>they had some dynamic fire behavior... >> and what we do... don't try this at home! >> tech know where technology meets humanity...

only on al jazeera america >> forced to leave their homes the number of syrian refugees passes 4 million. hello i'm fauziah ibrahim in doha. coming up in the next half hour. yemen's government and houthi rebels fail to agree. china's stock market opens for the first time after the government imposes emergency measures to stop the slump. pope francis's