Bill Myers

Bill Myers authored The Well News exclusive series on “Safe Passage,” a program that radically rethinks America’s War on Drugs. In the “Safe Passage” series, Myers digs into how opioids have overwhelmed rural Illinois. Desperate, the cops in Ronald Reagan’s hometown have stopped arresting people and started getting them help. You can read the series here.

Bill lives and works in Washington, D.C. Email him at [email protected]. He tweets from @billcaphill.

Recent Work

January 23, 2019
by Bill Myers
‘The Other Side of Me,’ How One Woman’s Redemption Offers Hope to Countless Others

After two decades of the opioid crisis, small towns like this one are barely breathing. If they’re going to ... Read More

After two decades of the opioid crisis, small towns like this one are barely breathing. If they’re going to survive, they’re going to have to rely on people who’ve taken their own journeys through the underworld. Read More

January 16, 2019
by Bill Myers
Doctor Zero, How A Single Doctor Became His Own Opioid Crisis

Most epidemics start with a patient zero. Here in northwest Illinois, the opioid epidemic features a doctor zero. About 10 miles ... Read More

Most epidemics start with a patient zero. Here in northwest Illinois, the opioid epidemic features a doctor zero. About 10 miles west of Dixon, up Route 2 and following the Rock River, under the shadow cast by the husk... Read More

January 9, 2019
by Bill Myers
A Failed State, How Illinois' Opioid Crisis Collided With a Political Crisis

For a long time, the police of Ronald Reagan’s hometown did their best to arrest their way out of ... Read More

For a long time, the police of Ronald Reagan’s hometown did their best to arrest their way out of their drug problem. It became a war of attrition — and the opioids won. A few years ago, Lee County authorities charged... Read More

January 2, 2019
by Bill Myers
The Town That Raised Reagan Wants Out of the War On Drugs

Opioids have overwhelmed rural Illinois. Desperate, the cops in Ronald Reagan’s hometown have stopped arresting people and started getting ... Read More

Opioids have overwhelmed rural Illinois. Desperate, the cops in Ronald Reagan’s hometown have stopped arresting people and started getting them help. In an exclusive series, The Well News looks at “Safe Passage,” a... Read More

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