Drugs with the power to disorient a user’s moral compass create a fundamental split in how addicts are perceived, and the difference trickles into the public policy and resources meant to combat the crisis. Meanwhile, as the societal response wavers, people are dying.

Because addiction is driven largely by genetic and environmental factors, overdoses can strike the same home twice, compounding the sense of grief and shame that is common among the epidemic’s survivors.

From its initial use, heroin alters chemical processes in the nervous system and makes the agony of withdrawal an overwhelming deterrent to quitting.

As a devastating public health crisis tore through families and communities across the state, the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram set out to document the heroin epidemic’s impact. A team of reporters sought to understand the causes and consequences of the rapidly rising death toll by listening to firsthand accounts of survivors – the loved […]

Q: I want to learn more about addiction. Where can I go? A: The National Institute of Drug Abuse has extensive resources about the science of addiction. The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is a good tool for learning about different treatment options and what they entail. The Alliance for Addiction and […]