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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.

Barb Walsh. Say Fentanyl Out Loud Without Shame. Day of Recovery. Lexington, NC on 8/10/2024

Barb Walsh Executive Director of fentvic.org urges Davidson County School Board to install naloxone in ALL schools to save student lives from fentanyl. Race Against Drugs Day of Recovery event in Lexington, North Carolina on August 10, 2024.

The Fentanyl Death Crisis in America

Medication for reversing overdose is life-saving—if used quickly and correctly.

KEY POINTS

Fentanyl is a major threat causing overdose deaths in the United States.
Young people are unknowingly taking fentanyl and dying.
Fentanyl smoking is contributing to overdose and speedballing deaths.
Government and private agencies are cracking down on illegal fentanyl, but it’s an uphill fight.

“It is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced.” says Anne Milgram, Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), referring to the threat of fentanyl in the United States. She should know.

We still have record deaths, and that’s after the DEA seized more than 80 million fentanyl-laced fake pills and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder so far in 2024 . The fentanyl seizures represent more than 157.6 million deadly doses; 70% of the counterfeit pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. Sometimes, the drug is smoked and as with intravenous injection, speeds access to the brain, further endangering users.

The best new prevention approach, the “One Pill Can Kill” initiative led by the DEA, is amplified by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and other volunteers educating the public and seeking to prevent flooding of the U.S. with fentanyl and fentanyl-laced fake pills resembling Xanax, Oxycontin, Adderall, Vicodin and other popular prescription medications—but with a deadly twist. The counterfeit pills, more often than not, contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.

“CADCA and its 7,000 coalition members across the nation have worked tirelessly to address the issue of fentanyl-laced fake pills that are poisoning our nation’s youth by planning and implementing comprehensive, data-driven strategies, with multiple public and private partners to address community conditions causing this problem,” said CADCA’s president and CEO, retired Army general Barrye L. Price.

Raleigh teen carrying Narcan saves life by the side of the road

A Leesville Road High School student was heading to downtown Raleigh to run errands when she saw something on the side of the road. Victoria Taton ended up saving a man from a dire situation.

A senior at a Raleigh high school now has a rare, first-hand account of the power of the life-saving drug naloxone.

A Leesville Road High School student was heading to downtown Raleigh to run errands when she saw something on the side of the road.

Victoria Taton ended up saving a man from a dire situation.

Taton was driving near Crabtree Valley Mall, running errands in the busy afternoon rush hour, when she saw two young men in the distance. One of them was lying on the ground. She trusted her gut – waited for a red light, and went over to them.

“I asked them, what’s going on?” she said. “I kept my distance. He’s telling me that his friend is on the ground not responding. And he’s not sure what’s happening. But he thinks it might be an overdose from the symptoms that he was seeing.”

Taton raced to get the Narcan in her car — raced back, and administered it in the stranger. It worked.

“It takes anywhere from 30 seconds to two minutes to work,” Taton said. “In about 30 seconds to 60 still with the EMS on the phone, he comes out of the state of response that he was in. He throws up. He’s coming in and out of consciousness. The EMS are telling us that.”

Officials are still combating the stigmas around naloxone, known by its brand name Narcan. But more and more people are carrying naloxone kits to keep them and their peers safe. Taton said she’s been carrying it with her for two years.

“I just felt that it’s a really good thing to carry,” Taton said. “You really just don’t know anymore. Especially with kids our age, going off to college soon, you just don’t know. I just thought it was safe to carry it from then on.”

Her instincts proved right. Taton hopes her experience will motivate others to consider carrying Narcan.

“They said he most likely would be OK because we did the right thing,” Taton said. “If we weren’t there, he probably would’ve died. We weren’t sure what he took, but because we acted quickly, yeah.”

Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools passes Narcan policy unanimously, parents reflect

Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools votes unanimously

WINSTON-SALEM — Numbers from Forsyth County show that 22 minors have overdosed within the first three months of this year. The average age of those children is 11 years old.

Annie Vasquez with Forsyth Regional Opioid & Substance Use Team thinks that adding the life-saving drug to schools makes the biggest of difference.

“So I feel better that somebody at each of my kids’ school will know how to use Narcan, and will have it available to them,” said Vasquez.

Vasquez is an opioid survivor herself and says that this policy gives peace of mind for her own children.

“My personal story of making it out alive, I hope, will both inspire other folks that they can do it, or their family member can do it. But I also am here to advocate for all of those people that do use drugs now, that there is hope out there,” said Vasquez.

Andrea Scales lost her son Jeremiah Scales to fentanyl overdose and speaks about how this policy resonates.

I lost my son to unknowingly ingesting fentanyl, and this happened June 3rd of 2022. This coming Monday will be two years since his passing. Jeremiah was my only child and it makes me feel so good to be able to be apart of the change. This will change a life,” said Scales.

The school board passed the policy unanimously, with the end goal to carry Narcan in all of their schools.

Read the article on the ABC45 News website.

WS/FCS board of education vote unanimously to bring Narcan to classrooms

School leaders say they’re hoping to have this in place for the 2024-25 academic year. It’s a decision that comes after the community expressed the need for more school resources following a rise in opioid deaths in Forsyth County.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. —

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board members voted unanimously to bring Narcan to the classrooms. School leaders say they’re hoping to have this in place for the 2024-25 academic year. It’s a decision that comes after the community expressed the need for more school resources following a rise in opioid deaths in Forsyth County.

Annie Vasquez, a substance use health educator came to Tuesday’s night’s board meeting in hopes the Narcan proposal would pass.

“When I was 17, I started using heroin. I’m very lucky that I did not overdose at the school system. We did not have Narcan when I was in active addiction, so it’s a very different, just, area,” Vasquez said.

As a mother and 20 years clean herself, Vasquez says this decision is a breath of fresh air.

According to data from Forsyth County Behavioral Health Services, as of Monday, there have been 17 overdose deaths so far this year. EMS has responded to more than 700 overdose-related calls.

A total of 1,583 cases were reported last year. That would mean that through Memorial Day, overdose calls in the county could increase by 11% from 2023 to 2024.

Andrea Scales is also sitting in for that vote on Tuesday. Her son, Jeremiah, died in June 2022 after unknowingly consuming fentanyl. She says this vote is a win for both of them.

“Sitting in that room today, I carried him in here with me,” Scales said. “And we were both rooting for this policy to pass, and knowing that it has for the upcoming school year is amazing, it’s remarkable, and it needed to take place. And I’m so glad this is going to save lives.”

According to the draft policy, the Forsyth County Health Department will supply Narcan to schools for free. It will also offer annual training to teachers and staff on how to administer it and where it is to be stored.

According to the policy, Narcan isn’t required to be available for activities off school grounds, like field trips or athletic events.

Read the article and watch the video on the WXII News 12 website.

WS/FCS approves adding Narcan to its schools

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School leaders voted unanimously to add Narcan to its school district.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) voted unanimously to add Narcan to all its schools on Tuesday, May 28.

The drug can save the life of someone who has overdosed on opioids.

School leaders said it’s better to be safe than sorry.

“We just hope that we hopefully will never have to use it. But in the event that we needed to use it, then hopefully we would be able to save a life,” said WS/FCS Director of School Nurses Katie Key.

ABSS is in a similar process. The district said it’s researching Narcan dispensers.

This plan is in the early stages; no timeline has yet been determined.

Read the article and watch the video on the WFMY News2 website.

Davidson County nonprofit pushes for opioid overdose-reversing drug in all NC schools

Narcan is becoming more readily available in public places, including this free vending machine in the Forsyth County Detention Center. PAUL GARBER/WFDD

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools officials are considering placing the opioid overdose-reversing drug Naloxone, also known as Narcan, in all of its schools. That’s something Barbara Walsh of Davidson County would like to see happen statewide. She lost her daughter, Sophia, to an accidental overdose.

Wake Forest University student Marc Isabella spoke to Walsh about her advocacy through the nonprofit she started, Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.

Interview highlightsOn the goals of her nonprofit:

“I did not know how to spell fentanyl when my daughter died, but it appears to me that the focus is on the numbers. And the numbers just really don’t mean much until you put faces to them. That’s what the goal is. I am finding families every day who have lost someone to fentanyl. They typically feel very alone, thinking their child was the only one who has died this way. But that’s not true.”

On her priorities for addressing the opioid crisis:

“In North Carolina, I would like to see Naloxone in all 100 counties. That’s the easiest way to save a life. We think all the schools should have it just in case a student does something… If they have Naloxone on school premises and somebody goes down and has a fentanyl emergency in the bathroom, they can save her life. And if they don’t have a fentanyl emergency, and they still administer Naloxone, nothing happens. They’re safe.”

On the biggest obstacle to getting Naloxone in schools:

“I would say that there are many preconceived notions. Nobody spends any time to figure out who that person is, and how fentanyl got into their body… Education about the danger of fentanyl is critical.”

On whether there’s a difference in attitudes on Naloxone between rural and urban counties:

“That’s a great question. Mecklenburg County just approved Naloxone in its schools in January. Rural Harnett County just approved it in December, to have it in all schools and on the school buses. You have some counties in eastern North Carolina, which are all rural, they have school policies to have it in the district. Every school in the district has Naloxone. So it’s kind of a crapshoot.”

Read the article and listen to the interview on the WFDD website.

What’s a ONEbox? Eastern NC counties roll out opioid epidemic fighting tool

Two eastern North Carolina counties have adopted a new way of addressing the opioid crisis, which comes in the form of small purple boxes called ONEbox.

ONEbox is an emergency kit that contains doses of naloxone, a nasal spray that can rapidly reverse the effects of opioid overdose. The kit walks the user through how to administer the medicine in a crisis.

Wilson County was the first to roll out the ONEbox, and they’ve been placed in 78 locations so far to make them accessible to anyone.

Tiffany Hux said Narcan saved her life.

“I’m glad it did. I am so glad. If not, I wouldn’t be here for my two-year-old child,” Hux said.

Hux has been clean for 10 months after using heroin on and off for five years.

She’s overdosed more than once.

“It can happen everywhere,” she said. “You never know who it will happen to, who it will happen with and where it will happen.”

Jeff Hill, executive director of the Wilson County Substance Coalition, said the ONEbox is all about making naloxone, or Narcan, more accessible.

“We are past the point as a community that we can depend on a handful of people who can save lives. We have to be a community full of people who can save lives,” he said.

The Community Paramedic Program in Edgecombe County is also working to roll out the boxes, installing a ONEbox in Larema Coffee House in downtown Rocky Mount.

Larema Coffee’s owner, Kevin McLaughlin, said he hopes it will help prepare his customers and employees in a crisis.

“Instead of thinking, this would never happen here or to someone we know or see,” he said. “It can happen. It does happen. Every day. It is better to be prepared for than not.”

When the box is opened, users first hear a reminder to calm down.

From there, instructions walk users through how to use the overdose-reversing medicine.

“I can train you as many times as I want, but I do not know how you will react in that moment. If I can give you a tool that can walk you through that process and create that sense of calm, you’ve got a better chance of saving that life,” Hill said.

Even though she is now clean, Tiffany said she will keep the tool around just in case.

“I keep Narcan here. Even if I’m not getting high anymore, I keep it here. Just in case I have a friend who calls me and needs it,” she said.

Wake County school board approves Naloxone policy

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.

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