. >> reporter: addiction was not supposed to ham to tom foy a highly decorated police lieutenant but after multiple prescriptions following surgeries on his shoulders and hip he was hooked. he grew so desperate he started to steal drugs from the evidence room at the police station. >> i had a pharmacy at my disposal. it called my name and that's the disease of addiction. >> reporter: but than he got caught. and after 26 years of putting bad guys behind bars, i was on the other side of the law. >> i put my hands up and i remember thinking, thank you god it's finally over. >> reporter: the popularity of opioid has soared and patients are addicted by the time the prescription runs out. 5heroin users begin by taking prescription drugs. >> i was going to be using heroin that night. i was running out of pain killers. >> reporter: he says that arrest saved his life. for many heroin is an easy substitute because it's cheap and plentiful. >> they throw the doctors under the bus and we have not done our job. >> reporter: dr. dan muse of brockton hospital trainings first responders,000 administ