hunter dalton Archives - Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

Families who lost loved ones to opioid crisis welcome Stein’s call for Fentanyl Control Unit

Read the original article and watch the video on the ABC11 News website.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — There’s a renewed push to get deadly drugs off of North Carolina’s streets. At last night’s State of the State address, Governor Josh Stein once again called for the creation of a Fentanyl Control Unit.

The task force would be comprised of law enforcement officers and prosecutors to find the illegal drug and go after those distributing it.

“Too many North Carolinians are like Debbie – parents, siblings, spouses, children, and friends who will never get their loved one back,” Stein remarked in his speech.

Governor Stein invited Debbie Dalton as one of his guests of honor to Wednesday’s address. The Charlotte mom lost her son, Hunter, to fentanyl in 2016.

Debbie Dalton, Husband, Son Hunter (middle)

On Thursday, ABC11 spoke with Debbie, who described the moment she received a standing ovation on the House floor.

“It was so surreal and so incredibly special. I’m humbled,” she said.

Debbie met Stein not long after Hunter died in 2016 and has used the last 8-plus years to advocate for the dangers of opioids. Their connection became so strong that she shared her story in a series of campaign ads for the Governor in the fall. Debbie said his memory still fuels her work on the issue.

“We need more Hunters in the world,” Dalton said. “He was this great young man, and he could be contributing. While he made a bad decision that night, you’re not supposed to suffer that sort of consequence for your decision.”

For local anti-fentanyl advocates like Barb Walsh — who founded the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina — the establishment of a Fentanyl Control Unit is many years in the making.

“To me, it’s a continuation of the fight against fentanyl and his support of the over 18,000 devastated families who have a loved one who’s been killed by fentanyl,” Walsh said.

Walsh lost her daughter, Sophia, to fentanyl in August of 2021 and has since worked with lawmakers to get new legislation passed, including a bill making it easier for prosecutors to go after people who sell bad drugs. She believes the time for bipartisan action on the issue is now.

“This is not a red issue or blue issue. Fentanyl does not discriminate in who it kills,” Walsh said.

Stein’s remarks were met with bipartisan applause during last night’s address. The possibility of funding a possible Fentanyl Control Unit will likely arise during budget negotiations.

Governor Stein’s State of the State Address

On Wednesday March 12 Governor Josh Stein delivered his State of the State address.

Read the full transcript of Governor Stein’s address on the NC.gov website.

Download Transcript PDF

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.

Why Democrat Josh Stein’s new campaign ad for NC governor features a Trump voter

RALEIGH

A new ad promoting North Carolina Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein’s response to the fentanyl crisis will start running during the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday.

Stein is the Democratic nominee for governor and running against Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. In the new television and digital ad airing first on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service, a mother talks about her son who died from an accidental fentanyl overdose after taking cocaine laced with fentanyl.

The ad features Debbie Dalton of Cornelius talking about her late son Hunter, who grew up on Lake Norman. Hunter Dalton, 23, graduated from UNC Charlotte in 2016, moved to Raleigh and died that same year. His family and friends started The Hunter Dalton #HDLife Foundation in his memory.

Dalton has spoken at news conferences with Stein in his role as attorney general.

In the ad, Dalton praises Stein for his work on the fentanyl crisis as attorney general and talks about Hunter as “an amazing young man and just loved life. He was my entire world. He made a bad decision that night. If our son had known about fentanyl, he would still be with us today. And it shocked us to our core, shocked our community to the core,” she said.

“Attorney General Josh Stein stood up for families like mine, worked with law enforcement, and worked across party lines to attack the fentanyl crisis. I knew from the minute that I met him that this is a man that is compassionate and concerned and committed,” Dalton said.

‘We are in the business of saving lives’ | NC leaders seeking solutions to the fentanyl crisis

State and local leaders held a press conference Wednesday to highlight strategies to mitigate the fentanyl epidemic in Mecklenburg County.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, Attorney General Josh Stein and other federal, state, and Charlotte leaders are seeking solutions to the fentanyl crisis.

Sheriff McFadden hosted a press conference Wednesday at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center in order to highlight some of the work done to combat the rise in fentanyl-related deaths.

According to the United States Department of Justice, the number of fentanyl seizures in 2024 represents over 82 million deadly doses.

Around 10 people die in North Carolina every day because of fentanyl, according to Stein.

During the press conference, leaders discussed efforts by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office to train staff members on administering Narcan. These efforts saved over a dozen lives this past year.

“People are dying from this drug thinking that they’re taking something simple, but it’s laced with fentanyl,” Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden said.

Also, in November of 2023, the Arrest Processing Center lobby received a Narcan vending machine, which is accessible to anyone. Additionally, Sheriff McFadden installed 39 Narcan alarm boxes that were placed in resident pods.

“Should Narcan be in schools? Absolutely. In every classroom? Absolutely. At every nightclub? Absolutely, why? Because we are in the business of saving lives,” Sheriff McFadden said.

‘No person that is safe’: Families continue the fight against fentanyl during victim summit

MONROE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The Fentanyl Victims Network met Saturday morning to continue the fight against the deadly drug taking over the nation.

Families who lost loved ones in the fentanyl poisoning shared their stories and pictures in hopes of uplifting each other.

Debbie Dalton was one of them.

“There is no demographic; there is no person that is safe from this evil that is taking our children,” said Dalton.

In 2016, she lost her son Hunter to the drug after she said a good friend offered it to him.

“Hunter joked about it, like, ‘I don’t do this. I’m 23.’ He laughed about it. But unbeknownst to Hunter and his good friend, it was cut with fentanyl, and it gave my 6’2″ son a heart attack. He didn’t stand a chance against it. He was so strong that he survived for six days, and I held his hand, but he never regained consciousness,” Dalton said.

In his memory, she started the Hunter Dalton HD Life Foundation. Her mission now is to spare other families from going through the same heartache.

North Carolina is fourth in the nation in fentanyl deaths, but only 10th in population. Between September 2013 and September 2023, over 1600 people died from the drug in Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union counties.