Opioids in the Cape Fear: ‘One of the most frightening issues of our time’

April 3, 2017

Editor’s note: Welcome to our ongoing series about opioids. We originally planned this as a smaller series, but as the reporting unfolded, so did more questions. We began publishing on Feb. 28 with an outline for eight stories. We quickly realized that the complexity of this epidemic could spawn dozens more. And, though we published the eleventh and final story of this series on April 3, we realize that, as the epidemic continues, so will our coverage. Thus, we hope this original series will serve as an introduction, a foundation and a resource for those working to understand the opioid crisis and a point of reference for future stories.

What you see here is a list of all of our stories in the original series, organized for convenience, with other, related stories, too.

Part I – The epidemic, by the numbers

Part II – Opioids: from heroin to prescription pills to and ‘psycho synthetics’

Part III – The many changing faces of opioid addiction

Part IV – Mental health and opioid abuse

Part V – The power and potential risk of harm reduction

Part VI – Opioid demand, the fear of detox and the path to treatment

Part VII – The opioid supply: from cartels and gangs to family and friends

Part VIII – Taking babies from mommies – Opioids’ impact on families

Part IX – ‘Do the right thing,’ local and state government response

Part X – Law enforcement: another ‘war on drugs’ or something new?

Part XI – The cost of the opioid epidemic