RALEIGH, N.C. – Reginald Webb, a 33-year-old resident of Garner, has been sentenced to 198 months in prison for distributing heroin and fentanyl in the Raleigh area. On April 11, 2017, Webb was the source of the fentanyl distributed to a 22-year-old woman who overdosed and died. Webb pled guilty on January 5, 2024. Webb’s co-defendant in this case, as well as an additional individual who was indicted separately, have previously pled guilty to charges and are awaiting sentencing.
“In 2023, there were more than 4,000 suspected overdose deaths in North Carolina. Drug dealers who lace fentanyl into their supply and prey on vulnerable individuals who have an addiction should know that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will use every tool available to seek justice for victims of fentanyl poisoning and their families” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Webb’s actions show a complete disregard for human life motivated by sheer greed.”
by Jennifer Fernandez, North Carolina Health News May 9, 2024
By Jennifer Fernandez
GREENSBORO — Randy Abbott lost his daughter to a drug overdose in 2015.
No one called for help in time.
Diannee Carden’s son died from a heroin overdose in 2012.
No one called for help in time.
As North Carolina continues to lose more people to overdoses every year — a record 4,339 in 2022 — parents and families are calling for a change in state laws that they say would encourage people to call for help, even if they had used drugs themselves or had supplied the potentially fatal dose.
“We do not support the current approach of tougher criminality in prison for the non drug dealer who participates in an overdose event,” Carden said Wednesday during a news conference on the changing legal landscape of the opioid epidemic.
Diannee Carden
“We cannot be quiet. We will continue, as family members who have lost someone to overdose, to speak out. We want policies that work to keep people alive with compassion, support and harm reduction,” added Carden, who founded ekiM for Change after her son’s death (the organization’s name honors her son Mike, using his name spelled backwards). The Pitt County-based nonprofit provides a variety of harm reduction services, from clean needles and naloxone to fentanyl test strips and HIV testing.
Abbott spoke earlier in the week at a news conference in Greensboro to release the results of a new survey from Expand Good Sam NC that showed likely North Carolina voters also want to see changes in the state’s Good Samaritan law.
“In a drug overdose event, voters clearly state that greater emphasis needs to be placed on saving an overdose victim’s life instead of charging someone with a drug offense,” said Abbott, coalition coordinator and a parent advocate.
Expand Good Sam NC is a coalition of organizations from across the state proposing key changes to the state’s Good Samaritan law that they say will encourage people to call for assistance without fear of penalty.
The group commissioned a poll of likely voters conducted by phone last month by Strategic Partners Solutions, a Raleigh-based consulting firm. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Among its findings:
At least three-quarters of the 600 voters surveyed, from across the political spectrum, agreed that “Saving the life of someone who has overdosed should be more important than catching the person who supplied the drugs.”
Over two-thirds of the voters across all demographic subsets agree that a person who calls 911 for assistance in a drug overdose situation should not be charged with possession as long as they are not a drug trafficker.
These voters also overwhelmingly agree (75.5 percent) on providing protection to university students who call to report an overdose.
Nearly two-thirds (66.2 percent) of the surveyed voters agree that a person should not be charged with “death by distribution” if they called for assistance.
Of the randomly selected people surveyed, close to two in five said they have had a friend or family member die from an overdose, something that was more common for the people from rural areas.
Mary O’Donnell has long supported expanding the state’s Good Samaritan laws. Her son Sean died in 2017 after passing out while drinking with friends at a quarry near his Chatham County home. Frightened, his friends left him behind. He later fell into the quarry and drowned.
She encouraged supporters to let lawmakers know they want to see changes in the laws to help prevent more deaths.
Abbott said the changes are needed.
“We’re losing a generation,” he said. “We’re losing lives every day.”
Last year, North Carolina legislators joined a growing list of states that have strengthened “death by distribution” laws. At the same time, the state broadened its Good Samaritan law to grant limited immunity from prosecution for possession of up to one gram of any drug. Previously, only certain drugs such as cocaine and heroin were covered.
Abbott and Expand Good Sam NC said the changes to the Good Samaritan law don’t go far enough.
And Carden said making distribution laws harsher went too far.
They believe harsher punishments only put more lives at risk because people who fear getting charged for drug use are less likely to help someone who is overdosing.
Barb Walsh, executive director of Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, isn’t happy with some of the changes to the state’s Good Samaritan law for a different reason: The expansion to all drugs includes fentanyl, which is highly potent and is the leading cause of overdoses in North Carolina.
Fentanyl is the drug that killed her 24-year-old daughter in 2021 when she unknowingly drank a bottle of water laced with the drug. No one has been charged in her daughter’s death.
“I disagree with that policy but went along with it to get the modified law passed,” Walsh said, adding that she thinks possession of illicit drugs as potent as fentanyl that could kill so many people is wrong.
She has been focusing her harm reduction efforts on getting the lifesaving opioid-reversal drug naloxone into the state’s schools.
Naloxone in schools
Last week, Walsh hosted a Fentanyl Awareness Day in Raleigh at the General Assembly. More than 75 families met with legislators to talk about their concerns and to encourage support for efforts like getting naloxone in schools.
The next day lawmakers introduced two bills that would appropriate $350,000 from state Opioid Settlement Funds to send naloxone to all of the state’s schools.
However, since school boards make policy decisions on the use of naloxone, Walsh said her organization is working on encouraging school systems to take advantage of the availability of the opioid-reversal drug.
She said Wake County Public Schools is considering a plan to approve having naloxone in all of its schools and may vote on it later this month.
The district, the largest in the state, already allows school resource officers to carry naloxone. The school district’s policy committee is recommending training some staff members in every school on recognizing signs of an opioid emergency and on using naloxone, according to news reports.
Last school year, school nurses, staff or SROs administered naloxone 21 times on school grounds in the state, according to the annual School Health Services Report Brochure. The year before, it was used 14 times.
‘Unrelenting disease’
North Carolina families that shared their stories of loss at the two events this week said they want lawmakers to decriminalize drug possession, increase harm reduction and addiction services, open overdose prevention centers, and provide evidence-based voluntary treatment options.
“She was a beautiful, caring, timid, sweet girl who wanted nothing but to love and be loved, to be free of this unrelenting disease,” Drake said of her daughter Kaitlyn, who died in 2020 at age 23. “She tried to outrun it many times, but it always seemed to catch up to her.”
Drake said GCStop was always there for her daughter when she was in active addiction. So it felt natural to her to give back when she was in recovery. She was volunteering up until the week before she relapsed and fatally overdosed.
“The road that brought me here is not one that I would ever have chosen but will continue to travel it in hopes to be able to spare another family from this unending pain,” Drake said.
She said she also wants to spare another person “who doesn’t deserve to die” because someone is afraid they’ll be punished “for simply doing the right thing — calling for help.”
The North Carolina Senate and House both have bills (SB801, HB999) working through their respective chambers in support of Naloxone in schools – a key ask Fentvic.org has been working on the past few months.
Families of people who have died due to fentanyl use urged North Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday to do more to prevent other people from feeling their pain.
Fentanyl deaths are on the rise in North Carolina, state data shows:
2,838 people died from fentanyl from January 2023 – October 2023
2,797 people died from fentanyl from January 2022 – October 2023
October 2023 represented the most recent data the North Carolina Department of Health and Human and Human Services could provide.
Theresa Mathewson, whose son Joshua died in August 2022 at the age of 27 from fentanyl poisoning, was among the families visiting North Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday.
The group is advocating for North Carolina lawmakers to mandate having a box of naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, in every school in the state. Some people who attended Wednesday’s event said they were confident state leaders will utilize $350,000 of the $350 million in opioid settlement funds that North Carolina received to make it a reality.
Theresa Mathewson said she found her son unresponsive in his bedroom.
“He was getting ready to complete some tasks for a new job,” she said of her late son.
Theresa Mathewson said he son took half of a pill with roughly 14 times the lethal dose of fentanyl in it.
“[It was] enough to kill him and all his closest friends.
“It should be an eye-opener,” said Chelsea Mathewson, who is the sister of Joshua Mathewson.
The Mathewsons have started several grassroots organizations in Harnett County to spread awareness of the dangers of opioid use.
In 2022, more than 4,300 people in North Carolina died from all opioid exposure.
“Part of likes these [events] because I don’t feel alone, but I hate them,” Chelsea Mathewson said. “I absolutely hate them.
“I hate that there’s another mother and father going through it.”
Danielle Erving, whose son died from fentanyl poisoning, also attended Wednesday’s event.
“Nobody deserves this heartbreak because it can happen to anybody,” Erving said.
Jazmine Brown, whose brother died from fentanyl poisoning, echoed Erving’s sentiments.
“Nobody is safe from this, as sad as it is,” Brown said. “That’s the most important thing for people to acknowledge.”
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Families of those impacted by fentanyl in North Carolina joined together at the General Assembly Wednesday to spread awareness on the dangers of the drug.
Duane and Leslie Locklear were just two of the many parents in attendance. They lost both of their sons, Matthew and Ryan, to fentanyl.
“We lost Matthew in February of 2022 right here in Raleigh and nine months later we lost Ryan in Pembroke. Both, again, due to fentanyl poisoning,” said Duane.
Now they’re on a mission to make sure no other parent has to go what they’ve gone through.
Fayetteville mom, Nanielle Ervin, lost her son to the drug as well.
“I didn’t know what fentanyl was,” said Ervin. “Just to find out that your loved one is gone it’s devastating.”
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says in 2021 more than 77% of overdose deaths in the state likely involved fentanyl.
The group said to combat the crisis they want to see more Naloxone, a drug commonly known as Narcan, in schools.
Families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl are meeting with state lawmakers Wednesday morning to talk about the dangers of the drug, what can be done to save lives – and ask lawmakers to do something about this.
Families say there’s a need for more support and public education.
Families of people who have lost somebody to fentanyl will have their photos on display here at the legislative building, so lawmakers can see the faces of people who have died in their community.
When you look at the data, more than 17,000 North Carolinians have died of fentanyl overdoses since 2013.
Several non-profits and advocates are pushing for Naloxone to be in every school in the state. It’s a lifesaving medication that can be administered through nasal spray if an opioid or fentanyl emergency occurs in a classroom.
They’re calling on the general assembly to appropriate $350,000 of an opioid settlement fund that the state controls. They also want lawmakers to provide two boxes or four doses of Naloxone to all public schools.
“I would like to put faces instead of numbers in people’s minds because when they look at somebody who is young and vibrant and now dead, they’re like ‘oh, that could be me, my son, my daughter,'” Walsh said.
Wednesday’s press conference begins at 10 a.m. followed by a meeting with lawmakers.
Glenwood Avenue and Cornerstone Tavern bustle with club-goers before 1 a.m. in the Glenwood South district on Friday, July 21, 2023.
BY JOSH SHAFFER JSHAFFER@NEWSOBSERVER.COM
The phone rang at 3:30 a.m. on a Friday night, and Kelsey Walters woke to chilling news:
Her daughter and a friend took an Uber home from a Glenwood South bar, but by the time the ride ended, they were blacked out in the back seat — unresponsive when the driver tried to shake them awake.
The driver called 911 and EMTs found the two young women with pupils constricted to pinpoints, making the crackling sound of a death rattle. It took Narcan to revive them. When Walters got the call, they were recuperating inside a pair of ambulances, confused about everything.
CARY, N.C. (WTVD) — On Tuesday, Wake County school officials took another step toward putting potentially life-saving medicine into public schools — countywide.
Wake County School Board members approved a new policy Tuesday that would require all schools in the county to keep a supply of Naloxone — also known by its brand name Narcan — and train faculty members on how to use it. Families who have been touched by the fentanyl epidemic say that’s a big win.
“The more we say fentanyl out loud without shame, the more people understand that anybody could die,” said Barb Walsh, a Cary mom and founder of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.
Someone’s going to die because Naloxone wasn’t in school. And is that a risk they want to take?
Barb Walsh, founder of Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina
Barb’s daughter, Sophia, died in August 2021 after drinking from a water bottle that had the dangerous opioid mixed into it. Since then, Barb’s made it her mission to not only support families like hers but also promote life-saving medicine however she can. She founded the Fentanyl Victims Network in August 2022, one year after Sophia died.
“I have a fire extinguisher in my kitchen just in case I have a fire, that’s because I want one,” she said. “Naloxone is the same thing.”
In December, Barb attended a Wake County school board meeting, urging officials to consider requiring Naloxone be put into schools. Now, that’s one step closer to becoming reality, after a new policy was approved — and just needs to be voted on to become official.
“We don’t know where the threat is going to come from. But if we have a tool that can save a life, particularly one of our students’ lives, we want to do everything we can to take those steps,” said board chair Chris Heagarty.
According to state health statistics, Naloxone was used for suspected overdoses 21 times on school grounds statewide last year. Walsh said it’s not worth waiting for more.
“It may not have happened in North Carolina yet. But someone’s going to die because Naloxone wasn’t in school. And is that a risk they want to take?” she said.
Though there’s work to be done — only about 20% of North Carolina’s public school districts have Naloxone policies — the significance of Tuesday’s decision isn’t lost on Walsh.
“It doesn’t take an army. It doesn’t take a lobbyist. It takes a mom who’s lost a child to stand in front of the school board to make this happen. And that’s significant,” she said.
Funding for the new policy is not yet clear. Heagarty said they’ll be targeting possible state and federal funds in addition to county funding out of the superintendent’s budget. The policy will be discussed at a full board meeting in May, and if passed could be in place by next school year.
Narcan is the FDA-approved nasal form of naloxone for the emergency treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose. The Wake County school board is considering a policy to have naloxone at all schools. News & Observer file photo
Wake County schools could soon be stocked with Naloxone to treat potential opioid overdoses on campus.
The school board’s policy committee recommended on Tuesday new rules on emergency use of Naloxone. The policy requires schools to train people in how to administer Naloxone and directs Superintendent Robert Taylor to develop a program to place Naloxone at schools, early learning centers and district administrative offices.
“This is fantastic,” said school board member Sam Hershey. “This warms my heart we’re going in this direction. I think it’s crucial. At some point it’s going to hit, and we’ve got to be as ready as we can be.”
Many people in recovery from drug use often need help finding a place to live.
Housing can be even more of a challenge if they lack familial support or struggle with mental-health issues. If they are recently incarcerated, they are 50 times more likely to overdose and die as a result.
Wake County leaders want to expand ways to help with $7.5 million in opioid settlement money next year.
Over the next 18 years, Wake County will get $65.6 million from the historic national opioid settlement. The money comes from companies that made or distributed prescription painkillers and were sued for their role in the millions of people who overdosed on opioids or became addicted.
“We’re serious about this; we’re excited about this,” said Wake Commissioner Cheryl Stallings, one of the leaders who spearheaded the effort. “We all now recognize how great this need is. Unfortunately, sometimes, it takes a real crisis to get our attention and I’m sorry that we’re in this place, but we have a great opportunity.”
Where is the $7.5 million going?
In 2022, 219 people died from drug overdoses in Wake County. Opioids, medicines prescribed for pain like codeine, fentanyl, oxycodone, and morphine, were responsible in three-quarters of the deaths.
