Narcan is the FDA-approved nasal form of naloxone for the emergency treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose. News & Observer file photo
Teens and drugs. The phrase has long gone together, but, nowadays, each puff passed, pill crushed and line sniffed threatens death, not a shaking finger.
In response to the bleak reality students face — where deadly opioids like fentanyl are easy to get and even harder to escape — the overdose reversal drug naloxone will soon be stocked in every Charlotte public school.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education unanimously approved the plan Tuesday, which was the first time the district openly addressed the topic of drug use among students.
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.
Rapper-turned-country singer Jelly Roll spoke about the importance of prioritizing the fentanyl crisis at a Senate hearing on Thursday.
The musician, whose real name is Jason DeFord, testified before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, chaired by Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.
Jelly Roll, who from the age of 14 spent 10 years in and out of detention facilities for drug dealing and other crimes, said he was part of the problem but now wants to be part of the solution.
“I brought my community down. I hurt people,” he testified. “I was the uneducated man in the kitchen playing chemists with drugs I knew absolutely nothing about, just like these drug dealers are doing right now when they’re mixing every drug on the market with fentanyl. And they’re killing the people we love.”
Programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in Charlotte use modern slang to communicate a timeless message: Drugs can kill.
Students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill now have access to free kits that revive someone suffering an opioid overdose and test strips to see what the drugs they are about to take contain.
These steps, which assume students are using drugs, are designed to save lives, but prompt the question: Will the tactics work for today’s students?
In Charlotte, a public awareness campaign called “Street Pills Kill” uses the slang of youth to convey the same message. The phrases are the new generation of “just say no” or “above the influence.”
“No cap, those pills are sus.”
Young people use the words “no cap” to say they are telling the truth or they aren’t lying. To use the word “cap” would mean someone is lying.
Data from the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force indicates nearly three dozen children under the age of 17 died from fentanyl in 2022.
Nearly three dozen North Carolina children died from fentanyl in 2022, marking another record high in childhood deaths from the deadly substance.
Ten children under 6 years old and 25 teenagers between 13 and 17 years old died from the drug, according to data presented to the unintentional death prevention committee of the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force on Thursday. The task force didn’t present data on children between 6 and 12.
In 2021, 11 young children and 14 teens died from fentanyl. In 2015, it was one for teens.
“We have a problem,” said Michelle Aurelius, the chief medical examiner for the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. “It is reflected not only nationally, but here in North Carolina. We’re in trouble.”
RALEIGH — The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association (NCSA) has recognized Sen. Danny Britt as a 2023 Defender of Public Safety for the important work done during the 2023 legislative session to protect public safety in North Carolina.
“During a session that saw a heavy concentration of law enforcement and public safety related bills, Britt dedicated time and effort during the session advocating for law enforcement issues important to the Association which impact the office of sheriff, local communities and the State, according to a prepard swtement from the association.
“Senator Britt has been a valuable partner in the recent legislative session, supporting the legislative priorities of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association which is a voice for all 100 sheriffs in the State,” said Sheriff Darren Campbell, president of the association. “As a result, our sheriffs have new tools we can use to protect our communities such as new laws intended to protect our electric power grid, stop dangerous street takeovers by motor vehicle gangs and some which will allow us to better address the growing fentanyl crisis many of us see in our communities. We are better equipped today than we were yesterday to protect the lives, liberties, and property of North Carolina’s citizens.”
Britt’s legislative district is served by Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins, Hoke County Sheriff Roderick Virgil and Scotland County Sheriff Ralph Kersey.
During the 2023 legislative session, the General Assembly considered hundreds of bills and enacted dozens of laws that had a direct impact on law enforcement and public safety in North Carolina, according to the association. The 2024 session is expected to begin in April and will likely see many additional law enforcement and public safety related bills.
The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association has recognized Senator Michael Lazzara (R-Onslow) with the “Defender of Public Safety Award” for the important work he did during the 2023 legislative session to protect public safety in North Carolina.
“It is a tremendous honor to receive this award from the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association in recognition of our work to support law enforcement and enhance public safety,” said Lazzara in a Monday media release from his office. “Together, we will continue working to overcome the fentanyl crisis and ensure law and order prevails in our communities.”
Lazzara’s legislative district is served by Onslow County Sheriff Chris Thomas.
“Senator Lazzara has been a valuable partner in the recent legislative session, supporting the legislative priorities of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, which is a voice for all 100 sheriffs in the state,” said Sheriff Darren Campbell, President of the Association.
“As a result, our sheriffs have new tools we can use to protect our communities, such as new laws intended to protect our electric power grid, stop dangerous street takeovers by motor vehicle gangs and some which will allow us to better address the growing fentanyl crisis many of us see in our communities. We are better equipped today than we were yesterday to protect the lives, liberties and property of North Carolina’s citizens.”
During the 2023 legislative session, the General Assembly considered hundreds of bills and enacted dozens of laws that had a direct impact on law enforcement and public safety in North Carolina. The 2024 session is expected to begin in April and will likely see many additional law enforcement and public safety related bills.
Law enforcement says many of the 32 deaths in 2023 were first-time users who didn’t know they were taking fentanyl.
ONROE, N.C. (WBTV) – A 166% increase in opioid deaths happened in Union County last year, with fentanyl being the main factor.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office wants families to be aware that many of the victims are not serious drug users, but rather first-time users who may not even know they’re taking fentanyl.
According to the Union County Sheriff’s Office, 32 people died from opioid overdoses in 2023. That’s 166% higher than the previous year. Additionally, overdose calls were up 17% in the county at 170 in total.
Union County Sheriff’s Lt. James Maye said that it’s important for people, especially parents, to be aware of the hidden dangers of fentanyl. First, it’s incredibly potent.
“Powdered fentanyl, you’re talking about an amount less than the size of a penny could end a person’s life,” Maye said.
Those taking fentanyl often aren’t even aware they’ve done so.
“It’s often not your longtime drug user,” Maye said. “It may be one of your teenagers, a local student. They may want to try something like Xanax or Adderall, but it could be fentanyl and they don’t even know it.”
FIGHT FENTANYL to SAVE LIVES Digital Billboard Campaign
In Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union Counties, NC 1/7—1/21/2024
CONTACT
Barb Walsh, Executive Director, 919-614-3830, barb@fentvic.org Fentanyl Victims Network of NC (fentvic), 501(c)(3) EIN 88-3921380 www.fentvic.org Contact Barb to schedule interviews with local fentanyl victim families
4 LOCATIONS: Gaston, Mecklenburg and Union County, NC (see below) Gastonia, Gaston County: I-85 just north of Cox Road exit facing South South Charlotte, Mecklenburg County: 1) I-77 Southbound, near Westinghouse Blvd 2) I-77 Northbound, north of I-485 interchange, 3/10 mile Arrowood Rd Monroe, Union County: US-74 Walkup Avenue, faces east
DETAILS
1/7@12am -1/21/24@11:59pm. Runs 24/7, digital and illuminated.
Hosted by fentvic.org, NC fentanyl victim families and corporate good citizen Adams Outdoor (Julie Belnap, Account Executive)
Features 15 NC fentanyl fatality victims killed by fentanyl 15 different ways.
1/20/24 Family Summit on Fentanyl Fatalities: Public Safety, Awareness & Justice.
10:30-3:30. Private Event for NC Fentanyl Victim Families & Press who pre-register. Separate press release to be issued.
PURPOSE:
SAVE LIVES!
Spark public safety conversations within communities and amongst families about the dangers of illicit fentanyl, particularly counterfeit pressed pills (Adderall, Xanax, Percocet)
7 out of 10 ‘street’ counterfeit pills contain lethal dose of fentanyl additives (DEA 2023)
1,615 fentanyl fatalities combined occurred in Gaston (311), Mecklenburg (1,118) and Union (186) 2013-Sept 2023 (source: NC State Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics Death Certificate Data)
Links to fentanyl fatality data on fentvic.org website:
Fentvic is a charitable nonprofit located in Wake County NC. EIN #88-3921380
Fentvic is a action oriented grassroots nonprofit that promotes Public Safety, Education, Justice, Advocacy, and Support of NC fentanyl victim families in all 100 NC Counties
