WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – What started as a normal day for UNCW student Alex Bradford ended in tragedy, but his father’s mission to honor his memory comes at a time with encouraging statistics about North Carolina’s fight against the overdose crisis.
“I would say by far that was the worst day of my life,” said Jeremy Bradford, Alex’s father.
Alex died in 2023 from an overdose, a life full of promise that became part of a nationwide statistic.
Jeremy Bradford heard the words no parent is ever prepared to hear.
“Because of the distance between Spring Lake and Wilmington, we didn’t initially find out. We found out through social media. Somebody texted my wife and said, ‘Hey the police and ambulance are at the boys’ apartment complex. I think something’s wrong with Alex,” Bradford said.
Jeremy says his son was having a tough day and purchased what he thought was a Percocet pill, but it was actually straight fentanyl. That was two years ago.
Now in North Carolina, the state health department reports overdose deaths are trending down.
Each day in 2023, 12 North Carolinians died from drug overdoses. But in 2024, that number decreased to 8.
Locally, numbers presented to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners in April showed emergency room visits from overdoses decreased from 110 in 2023 to 98 in 2024.
“For the first time in over 20 years of studying this, I actually am speechless,” said Nabarun Dasgupta, a street drug expert at UNC-Chapel Hill, when asked about drug trends moving forward.
He also says trends show that most overdose deaths are between Gen X and millennials.
“What you see with Gen Z is a really different substance use pattern that’s more Psilocybin, more marijuana, a little more ketamine and ecstasy. And so they have watched their parents and their grandparents’ generations struggle with opioids and have decided that’s not the drug of choice for that generation,” said Dasgupta.
Dasgupta says there are several reasons overdose deaths are declining.
“I think we can understand the decline in overdoses in three ways. One, the drug supply is changing. Number two, people’s behaviors are changing. And number three, the demographics of who is using opioids is also changing,” Dasgupta said.
And a common activity seen in college students and drug use is sharing pills. But he says this is also on the decline.
“We see a lot less of that sharing behavior now. And that’s kind of across the board, and the problem now is not really with the prescription opioid and pills,” said Dasgupta. “Most mortalities are coming from powdered substances.”
But Jeremy Bradford believes advocacy and awareness play a role in the decline, too.
That’s why he created the 2 Out Rally Foundation to educate and advocate for mental health and empower individuals impacted by illicit fentanyl use.
They host events and advertise at places like baseball games to help parents and kids educate themselves.
“It’s been very therapeutic for our mental health to put pain to purpose. And our purpose now is to tell Alex’s story and ensure no other parent has to go through this. I’m a member of a club I never wanted to be a part of. And I don’t like new members,” Bradford said.
Bradford hopes that the death of his son will help save the lives of others, and overdose deaths will continue to decline.
“So that when it gets tough, when it is the bottom of the ninth and there are two outs, you’re not out of the game,” said Jeremy Bradford. “There’s still plenty of life to live and to move on. And you don’t need to result to a negative action that could end up taking your life.”