opioid crisis

Drug Take Back Day offers a chance for you to safely dispose of drugs you no longer need or that are expired — and it’s also an opportunity to help curb the opioid epidemic that’s claimed so many lives.

A new report from the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shows opioid overdose deaths in the District hit a record high last year. News4’s Jackie Bensen reports.

A new report from the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shows opioid overdose deaths in the District hit a record high last year. The medical examiner’s office studied 2,595 opioid-related deaths from 2017 through 2023. In 2023, there were 518 opioid overdose deaths in the District, according to the report. That marked a 12% increase from 2022, amounting to 43 deaths…

The opioid overdose reversal drug has been available to buy over the counter since September, but visits to stores across the country show that buying Narcan isn’t always easy.

In an effort to save lives, two Maryland mothers are sharing the pain of losing their children to fentanyl. Isis Flores and Edith Montalvan testified before state lawmakers on Tuesday and advocated for a bill that calls for tougher punishment for fentanyl and heroin dealers. Flores lost her 16-year-old son, Yader, in November 2022. “As a mother, I’m living with…

Student videos submitted to an opioid awareness campaign in Montgomery County are so realistic, they are heart wrenching, giving an unflinching look at the dangers of fentanyl and its pervasiveness in the world of teenagers. News4’s Jackie Bensen spoke to some of the finalists in the contest.

The group 1441 Inc. gave out overdose preparedness kits and other items to unhoused people Saturday in Ward 7. News4’s Derrick Ward reports.

The legality of an agreement by the maker of OxyContin to settle thousands of lawsuits over the harm done by opioids is going before the Supreme Court.

More than 20 people from California to D.C. were indicted in a fentanyl distribution ring after a two-year investigation that started with the fatal overdose of a young mother in Washington. Federal officials seized thousands of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, cash and guns as part of the multiagency investigation into what prosecutors say was a nationwide conspiracy to sell…

More than 20 people from California to D.C. were indicted in a fentanyl distribution ring after a two-year investigation that started with the fatal overdose of a young mother in Washington. News4’s Mark Segraves reports while D.C.’s escalating homicide rate is in the headlines almost every day, many more people are dying from fentanyl overdose.

It took years for Denise Chiarotti to be as honest as she is today when it comes to talking about her addiction. But the journey has cost her too many friends and loved ones to count gone because of fentanyl. “A lot of shame. And in certain places I go, I feel I can’t tell people I’m an addict because...

Fentanyl has a grip on the country many worry can’t be broken. A Virginia woman fighting for her life spoke with Investigative Reporter Ted Oberg and the News4 I-Team about her journey to recovery and why she’s not giving up on herself or others.

When Sara Lowry thinks about her son Aiden, she doesn’t think about the addiction he fought but about the boy whose goals of fancy jobs, fancy cars and one day life as a successful businessman in London were all lost to the powerfully addictive drug. “I can see the addiction,” she told the News4 I-Team, “but I know that...

Opioid overdoses are affecting every community, experts say, and the D.C. region has seen an explosion of cases involving fentanyl. Investigative Reporter Ted Oberg and the News 4 I-Team found a wave of increasingly cheap drugs flooding neighborhoods.

The meeting will be held Saturday morning at Park View High School. Nine students at the school have overdosed in recent weeks. News4’s Juliana Valencia reports.

Public health officials met with parents and state and local leaders in Montgomery County as they look for ways to fight the opioid epidemic. News4’s Walter Morris reports it’s part of an ongoing series of town halls hosted by the Maryland’s Opioid Operational Command Center.

The Virginia governor’s order comes after 10 students overdosed so far this school year at Loudoun County Public Schools. News4’s Drew Wilder reports.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order Wednesday mandating that school districts tell parents about any overdoses involving their schools within 24 hours after news that numerous Loudoun County Public Schools students have overdosed over the past few weeks. At least nine students at Park View High School in Sterling overdosed on pills suspected of containing fentanyl, the Loudoun…

The student overdoses occurred on the campus of six Loudoun County high schools, according to a letter from the superintendent. News4’s Juliana Valencia reports.

The mother of one student who overdosed said her son nearly died. News4’s Drew Wilder reports.