Search results for

This Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2017 photo shows an arrangement of pills of the opioid oxycodone-acetaminophen in New York. North Carolina faces a drug overdose problem that has strained police departments, hospitals, and care communities. The epidemic has ripped through families, leaving a wide berth of sorrow in its wake. More than 12,000 North Carolinians died from opioid-related overdoses from 1999 to 2016, according to state figures. And since 2012, emergency visits across the state that include a substance abuse diagnosis have increased nearly 75 percent, according to data from the North Carolina Hospital Association."Hitting Home: The Opioid Crisis in North Carolina" takes a look at how the epidemic is playing out across the state.Reporters: Jason deBruyn, James Morrison, Naomi Prioleau, Jeff TiberiiPhotographers: Ben McKeown, Raul Rubiera, APEditors: Elizabeth Baier, Dave DeWitt, Brent Wolfe