Filling in the brutal back story from opioid epidemic's front lines

New York

AS a county coroner in New York, Frank Whitelaw has an unusual perspective to share with local students on the opioid crisis. He is the one who examines the bodies.

But it is the families of the victims who get to him. "That is the most heart-wrenching part of this job," he said. "I can deal with bodies all day and all night, to a degree, but when you are talking to the family, you feel that raw anguish. It's horrible."

A year ago, Mr Whitelaw, 56, a former New York State Police crime-scene investigator, prepared a PowerPoint presen…