Naloxone Archives - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

After Years of Meetings, Davidson County’s $25 Million Opioid Settlement committee pushes to finally hire coordinator

Read the original article on DavidsonLocal.com.

The Davidson County Opioid Settlement Fund Committee is looking at hiring a coordinator to oversee how to use the $12 million the county will have in opioid settlement funds.

Currently Davidson County has been paid $6.9 million in opioid settlement funds and is slated to receive another $1.9 million in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

These settlement funds are part of the $56 billion North Carolina received from the national opioid settlement lawsuit in 2021. Davidson County is slated to receive $23.4 million over the next 13 years.

On Monday, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced North Carolina will receive $145 million in a settlement with Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sacker family. Davidson County is slated to receive an additional $2.3 million in funding from this recent settlement. Most of these funds will be distributed in the next three years according to the NC Department of Justice.

This would bring the Davidson County Opioid Settlement fund to approximately $12 million, which has mostly not been used. Last year, the county approved $1.2 million from opioid settlement funds toward the Medically Assisted Treatment program at the Davidson County Jail.

During the meeting on Tuesday, several committee members vented frustration on the lack of progress, stating they have met for several years and have yet to come up with a clear plan on how to spend these funds.

Lillian Koontz, director of the Davidson County Health Department, said she proposed the idea of hiring a coordinator for the opioid settlement funds over a year ago.

“These were the exact things we talked about and here we are a year later,” said Koontz. “We have not spent any money; we have not done any coordination… I strongly support using some of the opioid funds to identify a human being to do the research for us, to say how much money we have, to vet the programs and then bring solid ideas to us. As it is now, we just come into a meeting, hear some ideas and then we don’t meet again for several months and we are not doing anything.”

The committee members voted to send their recommendations to hire a coordinator/director to oversee the county opioid settlement funds to the county commissioners for approval during their meeting on June 23. If approved, the county manager would work with the county human resource director to create a job description and begin the hiring process.

Committee member Billy West, executive director of Daymark Recovery Services, said the committee should also consider granting smaller requests, under $10,000, to community partners until the new coordinator can be hired.

“It could be three or four months before that person actually gets (here),” said West. “In the meantime, there are other things that can be done so we are not viewed as a bunch of people sitting around with $12 million and won’t even spend $20,000 of it on local things.”

Mike Loomis, founder of Race Against Drugs, currently has a request for approximately $6,000 in funding from the Davidson County Opioid Settlement Committee and has not had any response from the group, or had his request sent to the county commissioners.

He is currently paying for educational materials, like several billboards to raise awareness of the impact of fentanyl overdoses, out of his own pocket. He purchases doses of Naloxone and distributes them in the community. Race Against Drugs also has an awareness event at Breeden Insurance Amphitheater in Lexington on Aug. 9.

Loomis said he is disappointed in the progress of the opioid committee, especially when it comes to supporting those in the community who are “boots on the ground” in battling opioid addiction.

“They are just waiting for another life to be lost,” said Loomis. “I have been doing this by myself for so long and I am up against the stigma of people struggling with addiction. I am disappointed, but I will keep doing what I do.”

County commissioner Steve Shell said the opioid committee can already bring any spending request for use of settlement funds for approval by the county commissioners.

The committee also discussed other options available to combat opioid addiction, including Naloxone (Narcan) vending machines, which would be available to citizens after hours. Several members showed hesitation on placing these machines in the community but voted to create a list of community partners which are already providing Naloxone.

The providers list would be available on the United Way 211 system. NC 211 is an information and referral service that connects people with local resources 24-hours a day.

Major Billy Louya, who oversees operations at the Davidson County Detention Center, gave an update on MAT program. He said since Jan. 1, there have been 27 participants in the program, which equals about 1% of inmates booked into the jail.

The MAT program uses once a month medication administered at the jail, instead of transporting inmates to local treatment clinics weekly and includes a peer support program after the inmate is released from detention.

The committee also discussed finding additional community partners to provide more post incarceration peer support.

The Davidson County Opioid Settlement Fund Committee meets quarterly and includes representatives from organizations impacted by opioid addiction, including the health department, law enforcement, family services, emergency services, county government, elected officials and community partners involved in prevention and recovery.

Why are synthetic opioids so dangerous? An ER doc explains

Read the original article on CNN.com.

The United States is facing an alarming increase in overdose deaths among young people due to synthetic opioids.

The rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, which include fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, increased more than 20-fold between 2013 and 2022, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overdoses and drug poisonings are now the third leading cause of death in people under age 20, behind firearms and motor vehicle crashes.

The overdose death counts among US youth ages 15 to 24 rose from 4,652 to 6,723 between 2018 and 2022, according to a new study in the journal Pediatrics. (A slight decrease occurred between 2021 and 2022.)

The largest increase was seen in deaths involving only synthetic opioids: Since 2020, fatal overdoses involving only these substances were higher than overdoses in which multiple substances were implicated. Overdose rates were nearly 2.5 times higher among male youths compared with female youths and more than two times higher among those ages 20 to 24 compared with those ages 15 to 19.

As a parent, I wanted to know more about synthetic opioids and their uses. Why are they so dangerous, and how are overdoses treated? How can people tell if the drugs they are taking contain synthetic opioids? Crucially, what can parents and other family members do to help reduce the risk of overdose?

The article continues on CNN.com or download the article PDF below.

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“One pill took her daughter”: Fentanyl Crisis turns personal at Salisbury Roundtable

Congressman McDowell pledges to fight fentanyl crisis in North Carolina after losing his brother to an overdose.

SALISBURY, N.C. — The fentanyl crisis tearing through North Carolina isn’t just a public safety threat — it’s personal. At a high-level roundtable this week in Salisbury, that reality hit home as lawmakers, prosecutors, and grieving families joined forces to demand action.

Congressman Addison McDowell, who convened the meeting, opened with a message that carried more weight than politics.

“Getting it off our streets is just the first step,” McDowell said. “Prosecuting those who profit from fentanyl is a major step as well.”

For McDowell, the fight is more than a policy priority — it’s a personal mission. His younger brother died from a fentanyl overdose, a tragedy that inspired his run for Congress.

“We want to stop the deaths that come with this poison,” he told the room, surrounded by district attorneys, sheriffs, and special agents.

Among the voices calling for change was Barbara Walsh, founder of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina. She clutched a photo of her daughter, Sophia, as she told the story no parent should have to repeat.

“Sophia was 24. She went to visit friends in Watauga County. On her way out of town, she stopped for water,” Walsh said. “That bottle, unknown to her, had just eight nanograms of fentanyl. It was enough to kill her.”

Her story silenced the room — a chilling reminder that behind the data are names, faces, and futures cut short.

“It’s more than a number. Every photo is just one ripple in a massive pond of fentanyl deaths,” Walsh said.

Local sheriffs echoed her urgency, pointing to limited resources and the growing reach of drug trafficking networks.

“What I’ve seen in three years as sheriff — this is a local resource issue,” said Rowan County Sheriff Travis Allen.

Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers added, “We can’t fight this alone. We have to work with partners — every agency, every county.”

The roundtable, titled “Prosecuting the Poison,” ended with a commitment to tougher laws, better coordination, and faster action.

For leaders like McDowell and families like the Walsh’s’, that commitment can’t come soon enough.

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, help is available. Contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

Fentanyl Victims Network of NC honors families, leaders who fight fentanyl traffickers

Read the original article on the Carolina Coast Online website.

BEAUFORT — It was standing room only as more than 50 people attended the forum about fentanyl Saturday at the Beaufort Train Depot. Those attending have witnessed the devastation fentanyl causes as local victim families introduced their loved ones and shared the many ways fentanyl causes death.

Barbara Walsh, executive director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of NC, who organized the gathering to honor those who lead the effort to stop fentanyl traffickers, said In many instances. Lethal fentanyl is ingested unknowingly. Fake prescription pills containing undisclosed fentanyl additives made to look like Adderall, Xanax, Percocet and Oxycontin are deadly.

“The victims did not know,” she said.

The pharmacy is the only safe dispenser of prescription medication. Recreational drugs also may contain undisclosed deadly fentanyl additives because it is a cheaper man-made ingredient.

Fentanyl is highly addictive. A person’s body can quickly become dependent on fentanyl. Local recovery and treatment resources are offered by Brooke Barnhill, manager of the Post Overdose Response Team (PORT) within the Carteret County Health Department.

Fentanyl has killed 18,959 North Carolina residents in 10 years, 2013-2023. Of those, 168 occurred in Carteret County.

Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina honored the #1 NC investigation and prosecution team by presenting them with the Save Lives Together award: Sheriff Asa Buck, District Attorney Scott Thomas, Prosecutorial District 4 (Carteret, Craven and Pamlico Counties), Assistant District Attorney Dave Spence, Carteret County and Legal Assistant (Paralegal) Michelle Gillikin, all of Carteret County.

Walsh said in the state, there are 37 NC Sheriffs who have no fentanyl investigation arrests leading to prosecution and four NC District Attorneys who have no prosecutions.

The removal of fentanyl traffickers who cause death requires teamwork. The Sheriff treats each death as a homicide investigation until proven otherwise. If the investigation leads to a prosecution, ADA Spence and LA Gillikin apply their extensive legal expertise to each case.

Walsh said victims and their families are treated with dignity and respect throughout the investigation and prosecution phases. This is unique to Carteret County.

“It should not matter where a person dies in NC to receive an investigation and justice, but it does,” she said

Walsh thanked Shannon Adams for serving as the local co-host of the event. Shannon’s brother, Ryan, thought he was dependent on Percocet, yet died in 2019 from undisclosed fentanyl additives in those pills.

Shawne Moran and Keenan, First Responder Therapy Dogs of Eastern North Carolina, were on hand to comfort the victim families and to discuss what they do to support recovery efforts in Carteret County.

For more information, visit www.fentvic.org or email info@fentvic.org to connect with local fentanyl victim families.

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Community unites at Beaufort forum to address rising fentanyl crisis in Carteret County

Read the original article and watch the video on the WCTI News 12 website.

More than 50 community members gathered at the Beaufort Train Depot Saturday to discuss the deadly impact of fentanyl in Carteret County. During the forum, Sheriff Asa Buck, District Attorney Scott Thomas, and other local officials received the Save Lives Together Award for their ongoing fight against fentanyl trafficking.

Families at the event shared personal stories about losing loved ones to fentanyl, highlighting the community’s urgent fight against the deadly drug.

One of those was Barbara Walsh who lost her Daughter to the deadly drug.

“It’s important for the families who lost a loved one to know that what their community is doing to keep someone else from dying,” said Walsh.

And In Carteret County alone, fentanyl overdoses have claimed 168 lives from 2013 through 2023.

According to Carteret County Sherriff Asa Buck a trend decreasing over the years.

“These cases are not different someone committed an act they provided a drug to someone caused them to lose their life and we investigate that just like a homicide and we prosecute those offenders just like we would if they would have killed somebody with a knife or a gun, ” said Sheriff Asa Buck

Carteret County Leaders Honored for Fentanyl Crisis Response at Community Forum

This past Saturday, a community forum addressing the impact of fentanyl in Carteret County was held at the Beaufort Train Depot. During the event, Sheriff Asa Buck, District Attorney Scott Thomas, Assistant District Attorney Dave Spence, and Legal Assistant Michelle Gillikin, all of Prosecutorial District 4, were honored with the Save Lives Together Award for their collaborative work in holding fentanyl traffickers accountable. Additionally, Brooke Barnhill, manager of the County’s Post Overdose Response Team (PORT), provided a Narcan (naloxone) demonstration and outlined local recovery resources.

Carteret County issued a news release from the event.

Download News Release PDF

Wilson County installs naloxone kiosks to fight opioid overdose deaths

by Jaymie Baxley, North Carolina Health News
April 14, 2025

By Jaymie Baxley

Naloxone is a widely available medication that can bring someone back from the brink of death in minutes, but cost, stigma and other barriers have kept the opioid overdose antidote out of reach for many of the North Carolinians who need it most.

In Wilson County, a new initiative aims to break down those barriers by giving residents free, 24/7 access to naloxone — no questions asked.

Repurposed newspaper dispensers filled with naloxone nasal spray were installed last month at five sites in the rural, eastern North Carolina county. These kiosks also contain information about recovery services for substance use disorder and testing strips that can be used to check illicit drugs for deadly substances such as fentanyl.

They were purchased with funds from a $2.9 million federal grant awarded last year to the Wilson County Substance Prevention Coalition, a nonprofit that has been at the forefront of local efforts to reduce the human toll of the opioid epidemic. More than 220 lives were lost to overdose in Wilson County from 2013 to 2023, according to data from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Jeff Hill, executive director of the coalition, said the goal of the kiosks is to “make sure that any person who needs a box of naloxone in Wilson County can access it at no charge.”

“Yes, over-the-counter Narcan is available, and yes, I can buy it at Walmart,” said Hill, referring to the brand name of naloxone. “But if I’m a person in early recovery who’s trying to help somebody, or I’m a person in active use or a family member of a person in active use with limited income, I might not have $50 to spend on that box of Narcan.”

Strategic placement

One of the kiosks was installed at BHG Wilson Professional Services, a center that provides medication-assisted treatment to residents recovering from opioid use disorder.

Amber Leclercq, program director for the center, said the kiosk was “strategically placed” on a side of the building that faces a row of tall bushes.

“With the vending machine being right there, it’s easy to access but also shaded enough to where other vehicles driving down the road don’t see,” she said. “If people are not yet ready to seek treatment or if they’re scared, this gives them the opportunity to discreetly obtain tools and information that might be life-changing. They’re taking the first step.”

The four other Wilson County kiosks are at county-owned facilities, including the local library, Health Department and Department of Social Services, and at Recovery Concepts Community Center, a coalition-run space that hosts meetings for addiction support groups.

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Each kiosk was initially loaded with 25 boxes of naloxone and 100 testing strips. Hill said interest in the stations had surpassed the coalition’s expectations, with a couple of them needing to be restocked just days after they were installed on March 24.

“Our machine was one of the ones that got cleaned out pretty quickly,” said Lori Walston, director of communications for the Wilson County Department of Social Services. “We have a lot of foot traffic because of our agency and what we do. Also, the neighborhood where we sit is one of the neighborhoods of greater need in the community.”

Alisa Milliken, the department’s grants and wellness coordinator, said the agency also serves a number of residents experiencing homelessness — a population with an especially high risk of overdose.

“We have a lot of homeless people coming in on a daily basis needing food and things like that, so we expect that the Narcan will keep going pretty quickly, probably every time at our location,” she said.

A newly installed overdose prevention kiosk containing naloxone, fentanyl testing strips and other harm reduction supplies near the entrance of the Wilson County Health Department.

Hill said the kiosks will be regularly replenished using funds from Wilson County’s share of a landmark court settlement with the pharmaceutical companies that allegedly fueled the national opioid epidemic. The county is set to receive a total of $7.8 million in annual payments through 2038.

Community education

Esteban Arizpe, a community paramedic with Wilson County EMS, said arming citizens with naloxone reduces strain on first responders.

“When someone calls 911 for an overdose and they’re actually administering the naloxone prior to EMS’ arrival, it greatly increases the chance of that person surviving while freeing up our units for other calls,” he said.

The kiosks not only provide easy access to naloxone, they also provide instructions on how to use it. Each station is equipped with a video player that gives a step-by-step tutorial for administering the drug.

“One thing that we strive for is to better ourselves and better our community by providing resources and giving them the education to know the signs and symptoms of an overdose, and how to treat it,” Arizpe said. “This is something that is helping us to meet that goal.”

Arizpe added that he’s seen a “great increase in knowledge” around naloxone and other tools such as syringe exchanges and testing strips — collectively known as harm reduction methods — among residents in recent years.

The increased awareness has coincided with a drop in emergency department visits. Admissions of overdose patients to the ER at Wilson Medical Center fell 36 percent from 2022 to 2025, according to DHHS data.

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Multi-county effort

The grant used to buy and stock the kiosks came from the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, a multi-year initiative managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration.

In addition to paying for the five kiosks in Wilson County, the money allowed the coalition to buy four stations to place in nearby Edgecombe, Nash, Warren and Wayne counties. The total cost for the project was $10,000.

Carole Johnson, former administrator of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, speaks during an event announcing a $2.9 million grant for the Wilson County Substance Prevention Coalition in September 2024.

The kiosk for Wayne County was presented to the local Health Department. Margaret Brake, the department’s director, said she will be meeting with community partners this month to determine where it should be placed.

“We like the idea that people will have 24-hour access to naloxone,” she said. “Particularly if it’s someone that’s homeless or struggling—they can get what they need when they need it. We’ve even talked about putting some canned goods in there, just to have some additional things the community can use.”

Mark Winstead, a pastor at Restoration Purpose Church in the small Nash County town of Bailey, is also trying to find a good site for his community’s kiosk. He described Bailey, which had a population of fewer than 600 people at the 2020 U.S. Census, as a place where “everybody knows everybody.”

“There’s still a stigma there,” Winstead said. “But if I can put something somewhere, and maybe it’s a well-known commissioner’s son who’s battling addiction and he can discreetly come get naloxone, then that’s what it’s all about.”

“You can’t treat somebody that’s dead,” he added. “We gotta be able to save their life first — and then we can work on the rest of it.”

This article first appeared on North Carolina Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Stein wants ‘fentanyl control unit’ of prosecutors and drug agents. How it would work.

Read the original article on the Raleigh News & Observer website.

Welcome to the Sunday edition of our Under the Dome newsletter, which focuses on the governor. I’m Avi Bajpai, filling in for Dawn Vaughan this week.

Gov. Josh Stein announces his 2025-27 state budget proposal during a press conference Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the Albemarle Building in Raleigh. Travis Long tlong@newsobserver.com

The budget proposal Gov. Josh Stein unveiled last month renews his request, now for the third year in a row, for a special unit of state prosecutors and law enforcement agents focused on combating fentanyl trafficking.

Stein first called on the General Assembly to create a fentanyl control unit within the N.C. Department of Justice in February 2023. As head of the department in his role as attorney general at the time, Stein said there was a need for additional prosecutors dedicated to helping local district attorneys go after large-scale trafficking, wiretap, and overdose cases.

His first recommended budget as governor this year includes a funding request for a fentanyl control unit with attorney positions at the DOJ, and law enforcement positions at the State Bureau of Investigation.

Asked about the proposal this week, Stein told reporters that even though initial data appeared to show a downturn in overdose deaths in North Carolina last year, it remains a priority for the state to “dedicate resources to getting this poison out of our communities to the fullest extent possible.”

Gov. Stein will recognize Cornelius resident during State of the State

Read the original article on the Cornelius Today website.

March 10. By Dave Vieser. When North Carolina Governor Josh Stein delivers his first State of the State Address Wednesday evening, Cornelius resident Debbie Dalton will be recognized by the first-term governor. Dalton received the call from Stein’s office last week and she’s thrilled.

“There really aren’t words to describe how much this means to the Dalton family,” she said. “We are so grateful to Gov. Stein as well as all of Hunter’s friends who have been so supportive over the years.”

About the Dalton family

Debbie and her husband Randy lost their son Hunter, who was 23, to an accidental opioid overdose in 2016. Since then she has been dedicated to educating people about the dangers of opioids through the Hunter Dalton HD Life Foundation, which provides education about the dangers of recreational drugs as well as resources to prevent drug usage and death from overdoses.

When Stein was Attorney General, she received the Attorney General’s Dogwood Award which is given annually to honor North Carolinians who are dedicated to keeping people safe and healthy in their communities.

Dalton has been especially active in addressing students in middle schools throughout the state.

About the State of the State address

In North Carolina, the State of the State is given every two years during a joint session of the General Assembly in Raleigh.

It is held in the House chamber, as the Senate chamber is not large enough to fit everyone. There are 50 senators and 120 representatives in the House. The Council of State is there, too, as well as the N.C. Supreme Court and the N.C. Court of Appeals.

TOWN HALL MEETING ABOUT FENTANYL

Wilson County & Adjacent NC Counties

TOWN HALL MEETING ABOUT FENTANYL (open to the public)
Wilson County & Adjacent NC Counties
Saturday, February 1, 2025, 2:00-4:00 pm

Date	Saturday, February 1, 2025, 2:00-4:00 pm
Location	Foundation YMCA of Wilson 233 Nash Street Wilson NC. 27893

Download Press Release PDF

Contacts

Barb Walsh, Executive Director, 919-614-3830
barb@fentvic.org. website: www.fentvic.org
Fentanyl Victims Network of NC (fentvic.org), 501(c)(3) EIN 88-3921380
Local Co-Host: Lisa Bennett, Mother of Mason Bennett, Forever 22. Valued member of fentvc.org. Public safety, education & justice advocate. 229-873-5648 lisawbennett@me.com

Purpose

SAVE LIVES! Public Safety Education Prevention Tools + Naloxone Distribution & Training
Listen-Learn-Interview devastated fentanyl victim families. It could happen to anyone!
Spark public safety conversations about the dangers of illicit fentanyl, particularly counterfeit pressed pills (Adderall, Xanax, Percocet), and access to life-saving naloxone in schools and the community
Connect NC Fentanyl Victim Families to one another for support and advocacy.