The Dallas Morning News Launches Transformative Series Examining Fentanyl’s Deadly Grip on North Texas

30 straight days of comprehensive coverage during September
Unflinching look at the scope and scale of damage to schools, families, communities

DALLAS, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DallasNews Corporation (Nasdaq: DALN) -

This September, The Dallas Morning News is investigating and detailing the burgeoning fentanyl epidemic, known as the deadliest drug threat in American history. The potent synthetic opioid has been responsible for the overdose deaths of over 1,100 North Texans since 2021.

More than two dozen News staffers spent months researching, reporting, writing, editing, photographing and designing a wide-ranging package about the deadly drug. “Deadly Fake: 30 Days Inside Fentanyl’s Grip on North Texas,” tells in heart-breaking and stark detail the rapidly growing crisis unfolding across the nation and at home.

“Thirty days of a single topic is a significant undertaking for any publication. But this is an urgent problem, and with no clear answers, it’s incumbent on us to bring a new understanding of how hazardous this drug is,” said Katrice Hardy, The News’s executive editor. “This is where news organizations excel – telling the truth, providing context and conveying solutions as we know them.”

The series introduces readers to those affected by the most potent, addictive, disguisable drug ever created and how it got to North Texas. Meet families who have lost their children. Learn about fentanyl’s swift and dangerous effects on the human body – from as little as 2 milligrams, about the same as 10 to 15 grains of table salt. This makes it 50 times more potent than a lethal dose of heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. Understand how law enforcement and health care are learning to handle an epidemic again.

Yet, there is hope. The power of knowledge and awareness has the potential to mitigate the relentless spread of this mounting and insidious problem and stop the trend of five Texans dying from it every day.

Join us.

Fentanyl Tools and Resources

• Texas Targeted Opioid Response: A public health initiative operated by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission: txopioidresponse.org
  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/stopoverdose/fentanyl
  
• National Institute on Drug Abuse facts on naloxone: nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/naloxone
  
• Partnership to End Addiction: Help is available via phone (1-855-378-4373) or text (Text 55753). For details and more resources, visit getsmartaboutdrugs.gov/find-help.
  
• North Texas Behavioral Health Authority: 24-hour crisis hotline at 1-866-260-8000 or ntbha.org.

Dallas Morning News Resources
Series home: dallasnews.com/deadlyfake
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DallasNews Corporation is the Dallas-based holding company of The Dallas Morning News and Medium Giant. The Dallas Morning News is Texas’ leading daily newspaper with a strong journalistic reputation, intense regional focus and close community ties. Medium Giant is a media and marketing agency of divergent thinkers who devise strategies that deepen connections, expand influence, and scale success for clients nationwide. For additional information, visit dallasnewscorporation.com or email invest@dallasnews.com. 

Contact:
Katrice Hardy, executive editor, The Dallas Morning News
katrice.hardy@dallasnews.com