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Multiple, glaring government breakdowns are documented in the revealing investigation of the opioid-overdose epidemic by The Post and CBS’s “60 Minutes.” The report exposed weakening federal enforcement of drug distribution; corrosive industry lobbying that crippled that enforcement; and a dysfunctional Congress and White House at a time when a debilitating scourge swept the country. (10/16)

As the nation’s opioid-addiction problem mushroomed into a full-blown epidemic, major drug manufacturers and distributors anticipated that a regulatory crackdown was coming. So they boosted campaign donations to key lawmakers and spent $106 million successfully lobbying Congress to limit enforcement powers that might have stemmed the epidemic. (10/16)

The drug epidemic of the 1980s and ’90s was horrific. It led to draconian laws that helped break already vulnerable families, killed thousands of people, devastated communities and created an image of zombie-like addicts and unrepentant pushers that made it harder for Americans not directly affected by the scourge to empathize with those suffering. (10/16)