The combination of prescription painkillers, heroin and synthetic opioids is killing people around the nation, including within Reporter Newspapers communities. In 2018, the Reporter covered the local impacts through the exclusive four-part series “Coping with a Crisis: Opioid Addiction in the Suburbs” by veteran journalist Max Blau, as well as related stories and the debut of our “Reporter Extra” podcast. The following is a recap of key stories in “Coping with a Crisis”; click the headline to read the story.
Life after death: Families turn obituaries into protests against the stigma of addiction
After eight O.D.s and a prison scare, a Dunwoody resident helps others on the road to getting clean
How a suburban mother started peddling fentanyl and became the target of federal prosecutors
Opioid ODs are deadlier than mass shootings, but some high schools don’t stock the antidote
Commentary: A doctor’s overview of the opioid crisis
Community Survey: The opioid epidemic’s personal costs
For local police, free overdose antidotes came with a price: looming expiration dates
