Mecklenburg's opioid crisis series

Overdose deaths continue to impact Mecklenburg County residents. Over the past six years, with the exception of last year, overdose deaths among Black and Hispanic residents have risen sharply each year. In part one of WFAE’s series, we explored how job loss and loss of loved ones turn some residents to drugs. In part two, we talk with researchers who test the drugs and with those who say they sold drugs to understand why.

Overdose deaths among Black and Hispanic residents have risen sharply in Mecklenburg County over the past six years. At the same time, overdose deaths among white residents have fluctuated. In part one of a three-part series, WFAE explores the crisis.