HEROIN. PCP. COCAINE. THE WAR RAGES ON.

NEW SEASON OF "DRUGS, INC." CHRONICLES THE ONGOING DRUG EPIDEMIC RAVAGING OUR NATION

Critically Acclaimed Series Drugs, Inc. Returns Wednesday, July 2, at 9 PM ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel

(Washington, D.C. - June 10, 2014) National Geographic Channel's (NGC's) acclaimed series Drugs, Inc. returns for a fifth season with an unflinching look at the war on drugs. Premiering Wednesday, July 2, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, Drugs, Inc. opens viewers' eyes with a 360-degree approach to the drug trade. With intimate firsthand, street-level testimonies from those at the front lines and back alleys of the drug trade - traffickers, dealers, users, federal agents and cops - this investigative series examines the $350 billion-a-year industry from all angles. For more information, visit natgeotv.com/drugs and follow us on Twitter @NGC_PR.

Startling firsthand interviews with users and dealers play out alongside incredible access to law enforcement officials. Stand on the front lines with the local and federal agencies trying tirelessly to curb their city's addiction, meet the drug mules trying to score a payday, and go inside the dangerous drug dens where dealers cook their product. From the mean streets to the police headquarters, Drugs, Inc. provides a raw, honest look at drugs in America.

Each episode focuses on a different state, city or province and its most problematic drug(s). This season, visit Salt Lake City, Utah, where Mexico's cartels are flooding the streets with narcotics and tarnishing the city's idyllic veneer. And in Washington, D.C., join a DEA tactical unit as it prepares to take down PCP kitchens that are toxic, explosive and ruthlessly defended. In Portland, Ore., meet the heroin-addicted homeless youth who have succumbed to the allure of a cheap high and the police fighting to break up the local distribution networks. Additional cities this season include Oakland, Calif.; Baltimore, Md.; Atlanta, Ga.; Dallas, Texas; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; and Boston, Mass.

Premiere episodes include:

Salt Lake Sinners Premieres Wednesday, July 2, at 9 PM ET/PT Salt Lake City is one of the safest cities in the U.S., the capital of the state of Utah and the spiritual home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But behind its idyllic veneer, Salt Lake City is in the grip of a drug epidemic. Prescription pill abuse is among the highest in the U.S. and is responsible for more deaths annually than car accidents. Sensing fresh profits, Mexico's most feared cartels are flooding Salt Lake City with narcotics and using gang members from California to run their operations in the city. NGC lifts the lid on Salt Lake City's secret drug world, exposing drug addiction and dealing among the Mormon community, the takeover of the city's drug market by the cartels, and the threats faced by law enforcement as they fight to contain it.

Cokeland Premieres Wednesday, July 9, at 9 PM ET/PT Oakland, Calif., has been rocked by a police corruption scandal and a $58 million budget deficit that have decimated the city's police department staffing and morale. It's become known as the city with half a police force. It is the third most dangerous city in the U.S., with the most violent robberies and the seventh-highest murder rate per capita. The drug market has become an unregulated free for all, worth millions of dollars per year. NGC follows an elite team of detectives working around the clock to bring down the ringleaders. And access to the dealers, users and gang members at the heart of it all provide an unforgiving look inside the crack- and cocaine-infested city.

PCP in D.C. Premieres Wednesday, July 16, at 9 PM ET/PT Washington, D.C., was once "Crack City" and the murder capital of the U.S. But an increased police presence following Sept. 11 made drugs scarce. In the neighborhoods of southeast D.C., one drug remained - PCP. And it's causing havoc. NGC goes inside the chaotic world of PCP where users think they're invincible and can be driven to insane acts of depravity. Visit the emergency room unit where doctors treat up to 80 psychotic patients high on PCP each month; here, the unpredictable patients are strapped to their beds. Join the DEA tactical units as they train in safe ways to take down PCP kitchens that are toxic, explosive and ruthlessly defended. And meet the users, dealers and traffickers who are dependent on the toxic drug.

Dope-landia Premieres Wednesday, July 23, at 9 PM ET/PT Portland's progressive attitudes have made it a mecca for America's homeless and they're helping fund the deadliest drug market in the Pacific Northwest. Here, pushers prey on the young, handing them free sample bags of narcotics to turn them into new customers. With thousands of Portland's youths succumbing to heroin's powerful allure, local police have made it their No. 1 priority to disrupt the flow into the city by smashing the local distribution networks. Go undercover as police work to shut down the Mexican cartels feeding Dope-landia's addiction. And follow the young users who will do anything to feed their high.

Memphis Mayhem Premieres Wednesday, July 30, at 9 PM ET/PT In Memphis, Tenn., drug habits are changing. Along Elvis Presley Blvd., addicts are switching to heroin as supplies of cocaine dry up following a successful kingpin takedown. Now, dealers with pockets stuffed full of cash are attracting deadly stick-up crews who roam the streets looking for easy targets. Ride alongside Memphis cops as they find themselves confronted by paranoid and trigger-happy dealers as they try to stop a heroin epidemic from engulfing the city. Go inside a raid on a drug den belonging to a detained heroin dealer. And meet the men and women in the grips of deadly addiction as they try to kick a violent and all-consuming habit.

Drugs, Inc. is produced by Wall to Wall Media Ltd. for National Geographic Channels. For Wall to Wall, the executive producers are Chris Lent and Jonathan Hewes. For NGC, executive producer is Madeleine Carter; vice president of production and development is Kevin Mohs; senior vice president of programming and development is Noel Siegel; and executive vice president of programming and strategy is Heather Moran.

For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com/drugs.

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