WNPR Covers Connecticut's Opioid Epidemic
The nation is in the midst of a crisis as heroin and other opioids are causing deaths to rise.
The issue is complicated, as it involves not just addiction and users, but also fine-tuning the best practices of both law enforcement and the medical profession.
Below, find coverage of these topics and more from WNPR's reporters and talk shows.
Most Recent
VA Steps Up Efforts To Help Veterans Fighting Opioid Addiction
by Peggy McCarthy, September 26, 2017
Waterbury Sues Drug Companies Over Opioid Epidemic
by Harriet Jones, September 5, 2017
Powerful Opioid Fentanyl Leading Overdose Death Rates In Connecticut
by Ray Hardman and Patrick Skahill, August 30, 2017
Connecticut Overdose Deaths Projected To Break 1,000 This Year
by Harriet Jones, August 28, 2017
Educating Doctors On Opioid Prescriptions Important To Addiction Prevention
by Ray Hardman, August 21, 2017
Standing Up To Addiction: Advice From A Connecticut Man In Recovery
Where We Live, August 18, 2017
Connecticut Initiative Aims To Stem Rising Addiction Trend In Teen Girls
by Harriet Jones, August 15, 2017
The Directly Affected
Powerful Opioid Fentanyl Leading Overdose Death Rates In Connecticut
by Ray Hardman and Patrick Skahill, August 30, 2017
Connecticut Overdose Deaths Projected To Break 1,000 This Year
by Harriet Jones, August 28, 2017
Standing Up To Addiction: Advice From A Connecticut Man In Recovery
Where We Live, August 18, 2017
Drug Overdose Deaths Continue To Climb In Connecticut
by Patrick Skahill, February 27, 2017
A Connecticut Family's Journey From Addiction To Advocacy
Where We Live, February 2, 2017
Drug Overdose Deaths Continue To Climb In New England
by Patrick Skahill, January 4, 2017
Groton Man Involved in Opioid Recovery Effort Shot Dead
by Harriet Jones, December 12, 2016
Watch: Montville Community Holds Vigil for Victims of Heroin Overdose
by Ryan Caron King, December 2, 2016
Remembering Hartford's Sherwood Taylor, a Voice of Addiction Recovery and Survival
by Ryan Caron King, November 22, 2016
Heroin Addicts Give Up Civil Rights in Exchange for Treatment
by Karen Brown of NEPR, October 26, 2016
Special Multimedia Story: Making Space for Sobriety
by Ryan Caron King, October 7, 2016
How One Agency Is Improving Conditions in Connecticut's Sober Houses
by Ryan Caron King, October 4, 2016
The Color of Addiction: Stories of Race, Response, and Recovery
Where We Live, October 3, 2016
Special Multimedia Story: One Hartford Man Braves Recovery After Nearly 60 Years of Addiction
by Ryan Caron King, August 2, 2016
Connecticut Mothers Discuss Efforts to Combat Opioid Epidemic
Where We Live, June 16, 2016
The High Cost of Rehab: Supporting Families Through the Heroin Crisis
by Harriet Jones, May 18, 2016
For Patients Suffering From Heroin Addiction, Suboxone Can Provide One Road Out
by Patrick Skahill, May 17, 2016
"There's No Beds Available": Sharing Addiction Stories in New London
by Harriet Jones, February 17, 2016
Vigil Draws Hundreds in New London to Offer Support During Heroin Epidemic
by Harriet Jones, February 5, 2016
Insurers Often Don't Cover Residential Rehab
by Lucy Nalpathanchil, March 21, 2014
Few Residential Treatment Programs for Connecticut Adolescents
by Lucy Nalpathanchil, March 20, 2014
Addiction: A Guilford Family's Story
by Lucy Nalpathanchil, March 19, 2014
Families of Drug Addicts Want Access to Overdose Medicine, Narcan
by Lucy Nalpathanchil, May 1, 2012
Emergency Responses
VA Steps Up Efforts To Help Veterans Fighting Opioid Addiction
by Peggy McCarthy, September 26, 2017
Police Rethink Tactics In Light Of Opioid Exposure Risk
by Martin Kaste, June 1, 2017
Rising Price of a Life-Saving Drug Complicates Efforts to Combat Heroin
by Patrick Skahill, December 8, 2016
More Children Being Hospitalized for Opioid Poisoning
by Diane Orson, November 2, 2016
Demand for Naloxone Varies, as Number of Pharmacists Prescribing It Grows
by Patrick Skahill, October 3, 2016
State Environmental Police Now Better Prepared to Combat Opioid Overdoses
by Patrick Skahill, September 8, 2016
As Accidental Drug Deaths Continue, Fentanyl Plays Big Role
by Jeff Cohen, September 7, 2016
Drug Overdose Kits Distributed in New Haven
by Lori Mack, September 1, 2016
Special Multimedia Story: Advocate Builds "Underground Network" of Heroin Users to Fight Overdose Deaths
by Ryan Caron King, August 2, 2016
Inside the Network of Heroin Users Fighting Overdose Deaths in Hartford
by Ryan Caron King, June 30, 2016
Lawrence and Memorial Donates Narcan to Frontline Police Officers
by Harriet Jones, May 17, 2016
New London Health Officials Issue Heroin Warning After Multiple Overdoses
by Harriet Jones, January 29, 2016
New Connecticut Law Expands Access to Antidote for Heroin Overdoses
by Ray Hardman, August 13, 2015
AIDS Connecticut Distributes Opioid Overdose Drug to Injecting Drug Users
by Diane Orson, February 27, 2015
In Connecticut, a Summit to Explore, and Maybe Expand Narcan Use
by Patrick Skahill, May 30, 2014
Connecticut Braces for Powerful, Potentially Deadly Form of Heroin
by Ray Hardman, May 13, 2016
Five More Heroin Overdose Cases in Southeastern Connecticut
by Harriet Jones, January 31, 2016
U.S. Attorney General Suggests Police Carry Narcan
by Lucy Nalpathanchil, March 10, 2014
Demand for Heroin in Connecticut Keeps Cops and Counselors Busy
by Lucy Nalpathanchil, February 11, 2014
Early Intervention
Educating Doctors On Opioid Prescriptions Important To Addiction Prevention
by Ray Hardman, August 21, 2017
Connecticut Initiative Aims To Stem Rising Addiction Trend In Teen Girls
by Harriet Jones, August 15, 2017
It's Genetic: The Risk of Becoming an Addict
Where We Live, November 14, 2016
Drug Education Programs Shifting From Scare Tactics to Peer Mentoring
by Diane Orson and David Desroches, October 6, 2016
Pilot Program in New Haven Focuses on Addiction Treatment for Inmates
by Lori Mack, October 5, 2016
Connecticut Surgeons Unite To Seek Alternatives to Opioids
by Patrick Skahill, August 24, 2016
It's Genetic: The Risk of Becoming an Addict
Where We Live, August 22, 2016
Tackling Drug Abuse — What's the Role of Schools?
Where We Live, August 15, 2016
New Haven Community Gets Lesson on Overdose Prevention
by Lori Mack, July 1, 2016
Leftover Pills Are Plentiful, and Disposal Options Unclear, Survey Finds
by Patrick Skahill, June 14, 2016
National Drug Take-Back Day Comes To Connecticut This Weekend
by Patrick Skahill, April 29, 2016
In Battle Against Opioid Epidemic, Connecticut Insurer Tries Early Intervention
by Patrick Skahill, April 28, 2016
Expanding the Reach of Addiction Treatment in Connecticut Towns
by Jeff Cohen, March 23, 2016
Under State Law, You're Unlikely to Leave Leftover Pills at Pharmacies Anytime Soon
by Patrick Skahill, March 9, 2016
Sorting Through the Confusion About Getting Rid of Leftover Pills
by Patrick Skahill, March 8, 2016
For Doctors, a Growing Awareness of the Dangers Posed By the Pills That Get Left Over
by Patrick Skahill, March 7, 2016
Policy
Waterbury Sues Drug Companies Over Opioid Epidemic
by Harriet Jones, September 5, 2017
Addiction Experts Blast Senate Health Care Package
by Harriet Jones, June 10, 2017
Connecticut Lawmakers Unanimously Pass Opioid Legislation
by Lori Mack, June 7, 2017
Mental Health Advocates In Connecticut Condemn Republicans' Health Care Bill
by Harriet Jones, May 10, 2017
Connecticut Gets Federal Grant To Combat Opioid Epidemic
by Harriet Jones, April 21, 2017
Sen. Murphy Introduces New Legislation To Combat Opioid Addiction
by Lori Mack, March 17, 2017
Housing And Health Officials Hope To Improve Integration Of HIV Care In Hartford
by Patrick Skahill, February 1, 2017
Gov. Malloy Unveils "Common Sense Approach" To Curbing Opioid Addiction, Overdose
by Ray Hardman, January 26, 2017
Connecticut Bids for Share of Opioid Recovery Funding
by Harriet Jones, December 13, 2016
Veterans Administration Addressing Opioid Abuse and Overdose
by Harriet Jones, October 28, 2016
Opioids and Heroin: From Drug War to Public Health Crisis
by Harriet Jones, October 7, 2016
Yale Doctors Develop Strategic Plan to Combat Opioid Epidemic in Connecticut
by Lori Mack, July 13, 2016
Purdue Pharma Denies Claims It Tolerated Opioid Abuses
by Harriet Jones, July 11, 2016
Connecticut Hospital Says Overdose Outreach is Missing Link in Addiction Treatment
by Harriet Jones, June 22, 2016
Why Are So Many Suboxone Patients Buying the Drug on the Street?
by Patrick Skahill, June 8, 2016
New England Governors Converge in Boston to Address Opioid Epidemic
by Martha Bebinger, June 8, 2016
Gov. Malloy Signs Law to Battle Opioid Addiction and Overdose
by Ray Hardman, May 27, 2016
Fentanyl Overdose Deaths in Connecticut Are Surging This Year, State Officials Say
by Diane Orson, May 21, 2016
In Opioid Crisis, Why It’s Important to Know Which Drugs Caused a Death
by Jeff Cohen, May 16, 2016
Heroin in Connecticut; Former State Workers Discuss Layoffs; Reasons to Love the Nutmeg State
Where We Live, May 16, 2016
At the Capitol, a Push to Limit Opioid Prescriptions to Seven Days
by Patrick Skahill, March 21, 2016
Regional Roundtable: Reporters Discuss State Efforts to Combat Opioid Crisis
Where We Live, March 8, 2016
Are Opioids the Best Way to Treat Chronic Pain?
Where We Live, August 24, 2015
Heroin and the Science of Addiction
Where We Live, February 6, 2014
The Resurgence of Heroin
Where We Live, July 20, 2013