Cincinnati Enquirer special 20-page section on opiod epidemic

For whatever reason, I am not particularly sympathetic or empathetic about drug addiction (except for addictions deriving from overuse of pain medication), although I recognize it is a public health issue and a matter that local government and agencies, especially emergency services, have to deal with.

The scourge of opioid abuse in the American heartland has to be addressed, but it is somewhat ironic that the current approach seems to favor "helping people" rather than the more punitive approach--law and order/"lock 'em up") favored for the county's inner cities.

Regardless, that the Cincinnati Enquirer has published a 20-page section on the problem, covering the issue from a variety of perspectives, is pretty amazing, and harkens to the time when "local" newspapers did much more of this kind of in-depth reporting on issues of "local" concern.

-- "SEVEN DAYS OF HEROIN: THIS IS WHAT AN EPIDEMIC LOOKS LIKE"
-- "Heroin addiction: Why we took on this 7-day project"

Note that for all of the complaints about chain journalism dumbing down local newspapers, I have noticed over the past couple years that many Gannett Newspapers are doing remarkable in-depth coverage on local matters, from the Indianapolis Star's coverage of abuses of the property tax lien process, the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader's coverage of the K-12 education system and particularly, teaching reading, and the Wilmington News-Journal's ongoing coverage of revitalization activities.

Plus, USA Today is doing a number of in-depth investigative reports.  One was an out-reporting of the Washington Post on sanctioned cheating on standardized tests in schools in the DC Public Schools system.