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Raleigh mother and unborn child’s suspected fentanyl deaths a dark reminder of drug’s pull

Read the original article and watch the video on the WRAL TV5 News website.

Newly-released warrants reveal a Raleigh mother and her unborn baby were among the latest overdose cases as they each died from fentanyl overdoses. The latest data serves as a warning for parents.

Seventeen North Carolinians die from an overdose each day.

It’s part of a troubling trend in our state.

Newly released warrants reveal a Raleigh mother and her unborn baby were among the latest cases as they each died from fentanyl overdoses. The latest data serves as a warning for parents.

Barbara Walsh knows the danger of fentanyl, a toxic poison her daughter died from unintentionally in August of 2021.

“Basically, you have a murder with no weapon,” Walsh said. “Fentanyl puts someone to sleep like a dog.”

Sophia drank what she thought was water in a bottle – except it was laced.

“This young woman was 24 years old, Apex High School grad, Appalachian State grad, professionally employed,” said Walsh.

A new search warrant issued by Raleigh police describes a recent suspected fentanyl death of a mother and her unborn child. It happened at an apartment in southeast Raleigh.

Police responded to a woman in cardiac arrest on Aug. 14.

A man inside the apartment told police that she took fentanyl and that he last saw her watching a movie on her phone about an hour earlier before finding her unresponsive.

Wake County EMS administered Narcan, a drug that reverses the symptoms of an opioid overdose.

But the mother and her unborn baby died.

“We are seeing about 3,600 per year die, every year it’s getting larger until this year,” Walsh said.

According to the office of the state medical examiner, there were 193 fentanyl positive deaths in May alone in North Carolina.

Despite that, yearly data is showing a downward trend. There were 3,354 fentanyl deaths in 2022, 3,341 in 2023 and 1,008 so far in 2024.

With this week being International Overdose Awareness Week, she’s hopeful parents can continue to educate their children about the dangers of fentanyl – an odorless, tasteless drug.

“Right now, 7 out of 10 pills not from a pharmacist contain fentanyl,” Walsh said. “Most people don’t know it’s in their pill, a vape or a drink.”

Two Narcan vending machines in Durham used to combat drug overdoses

Durham has installed two Narcan vending machines as part of a broader effort to make treatment for drug overdoses more accessible.

Read the original article and watch the video on the WRAL TV5 News website.

Durham has installed two Narcan vending machines as part of a broader effort to make treatment for drug overdoses more accessible.

Two Narcan vending machines are now available to the public in Durham at:

Durham County Department of Public Health, 414 E. Main St.
Durham County Detention Center, 219 S. Mangum St.

Federal health leaders visited Durham on Wednesday to discuss the importance of making Naloxone, an over-the-counter drug sold under the name Narcan, more readily available. Among the visitors were Dr. Rahul Gupta, who oversees the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Narcan is a lifesaving drug that can help reverse overdoses. During Wednesday’s visit to the detention center, Gupta said free access to the treatment is a game changer.

“Every time this happens, it’s a leading effort for the country as an example for the nation, for the state to do that.,” Gupta said. “Are there enough across the country? No. This why I’m here today … to exemplify the leading efforts right here in Durham County.”

Gupta said overdoses in North Carolina have declined in recent years, citing a 14% decrease in overdoses in the state compared to a 5% national decrease.

The vending machine at the detention center will be accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while the vending machine at the Department of Public Health will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

People at risk for opioid overdose, including those struggling with opioid use disorder or taking high doses of opioid medications, are recommended to carry Narcan.

Durham County Department of Public Health, 414 E. Main St.

Durham County Detention Center, 219 S. Mangum St.

Fentanyl deaths rising among NC children

Read the original article on the WUNC website. This article originally appeared on the NC Health News website.

LEXINGTON — On a recent Saturday, family members gathered in a circle at a church here to share stories of loved ones lost to fentanyl.

“Our whole world is turned upside down,” said Michelle, a Forsyth County mother who lost her 19-year-old son to fentanyl poisoning. She didn’t want to use her full name for this story or go into details about his death, as authorities are still investigating.

She doesn’t think her son knew he had taken fentanyl, which has become more common as drug dealers add it to everything from heroin to fake prescription medications.

Just a few grains of the highly potent opioid — about 2 milligrams, an amount that’s barely enough to cover the date on a penny — can be fatal. In 2021, fentanyl was involved in 83 percent of fatal medication or drug overdoses in the state, according to N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

“If this can happen to him, this can happen to anybody,” said Michelle, who has made it her mission to help educate other parents about the dangers of fentanyl.

She’s not alone in her fight.

Barbara Walsh, whose Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina organized the recent Lexington meeting, is pushing for North Carolina to require that the opioid reversal drug naloxone be available in all schools. Her 24-year-old daughter died from fentanyl poisoning in 2021 after unknowingly drinking a bottle of water laced with the drug.

“Large-scale” fentanyl dealer arrested after two-month undercover drug investigation in Selma, Johnston County deputies say

Read the original article and watch the video on the CBS17 website.

SELMA, N.C. (WNCN) — Agents with the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office narcotics division and STAR team put a huge drug case behind them this week.

According to deputies, numerous agents pulled up to 720 Campground Road Wednesday to execute a search warrant at the home. Inside were two adults and one child, including the subject of the investigation, 29-year-old Rashid Campbell. No one else in the residence were criminally charged.

Deputies say approximately 6,000 fentanyl pills were seized during the arrest, with a street value of $125,000. More pills were seized in numerous purchases in their two-month undercover investigation.

Additionally, deputies say they located three firearms, cash, and a money counting machine inside the home.

Campbell, who is a convicted felon, was arrested for numerous firearm and drug charges. They include multiple counts of trafficking in opium or heroin as well as possession of a Schedule II controlled substance with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver.

Campbell appeared in court Friday for the charges, where his bond was set by the clerk for $2.5 million.

A new law bans ‘gas station heroin’ in NC. Why is it still on shelves?

Read the original article and watch the video on WRAL.com.

Health officials and lawmakers have warned consumers about the opioid-like effects of tianeptine. But stores are technically still allowed to continue the sale of the drug — for now.
Gov. Roy Cooper this month signed into law a bill banning the substance known as “gas station heroin.” But the drug is still sitting on shelves around the region.

That’s because North Carolina’s law doesn’t go into effect until Dec. 1. In the meantime, stores are technically still allowed to continue the sale of tianeptine.

Health officials and lawmakers have warned consumers about the opioid-like effects of tianeptine, which, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has been tied to serious health risks and deaths across the country.

In 2020, there were 151 poison control center cases involving tianeptine, according to the FDA. That’s up from just 11 total from 2000 to 2013.

Concern over the drug led to a rare bipartisan effort to ban the product in North Carolina. Lawmakers in June overwhelmingly voted to approve the removal of tianeptine from store shelves. Cooper signed the bill this month, joining at least nine other states — including border states Tennessee and Georgia — that have passed similar bans.

Man charged with selling drugs after fatal overdose at Raleigh nightclub

Luis Baez-Roman was arrested and charged with trafficking schedule I, possession with intent to sell and deliver methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and maintain vehicle for the distribution of controlled substances.

Raleigh police have arrested a man after they say someone died after buying drugs from him at a Raleigh nightclub earlier this month.

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.

NC advocates to join national rally on fentanyl crisis in U.S.

Advocates who are fighting to keep fentanyl off the streets say more needs to be done. ABC11 (Raleigh) interviewed Patricia Drewes and Beth Moore for this story.

CBS17 coverage of Fentvic Meetup #12

On Saturday June 1st, CBS17 was on hand to cover Fentvic Meetup #12 in Durham, North Carolina. Watch their coverage:

ABC11 coverage of Fentvic Meetup #12

Coverage from the 6PM edition:

Coverage from the 11PM edition:

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — It’s a problem that’s become all too common.

In Durham County alone, the sheriff said last year they seized 3.7 grams of fentanyl from the streets. This year, so far over 300 grams have been removed.

On Saturday the group Fentanyl Victims of North Carolina held its 12th meet-up in Durham.

Natalie Beauchaine proudly shared a photo of her son Jake.

“He was smart he was giving he was loyal if he was your friend he was your loyal friend,” Natalie said.

But behind his smile was also a battle with addiction that ultimately turned tragic.

“It was not an overdose, it was something that he thought was heroin,” Natalie said.

ALSO SEE: ‘World No Tobacco Day’ highlights effort to curb the use of vaping in youth

The heroin was laced with a fatal amount of fentanyl. In the midst of her grief, Natalie found community among other members of a club no one wants to be a part of – families of fentanyl victims.

“It doesn’t know race, it doesn’t know color, it doesn’t know socioeconomic background, it affects everybody,” she said.

Around a table, other families shared similar stories, including how many were caught off guard by what has become a silent killer.

“Marijuana can be laced with fentanyl and sometimes fentanyl can even be in water or soda as far as a child is concerned, and you don’t know that it’s there which is really really dangerous,” said Dr. Wanda Boone.

Dangerous also because of how cheap and prevalent it is.

“It is an economic boon to the drug trade,” said Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead.

Birkhead said his office is working to get fentanyl off the streets.

“Once they get it, they can take those 3.7 grams or those 300 grams and just multiply it exponentially,” he said.

One solution they’re fighting for is making sure naloxone is available in every school in the state. They’re also hoping these stories and legacies save lives.

“I just don’t want to see any other families go through this. It’s a horrible grief and it’s just something that nobody else has to go through,” Natalie said.

Wake County approved naloxone in all schools but not every county has them. State Senator Mike Woodard said it would only cost around $350,000 to supply naloxone statewide and he’s hoping to get it into the state budget.

Read the story and watch the video on the ABC11 News website.