โ€˜Not my kid.โ€™ How $7 pills get Charlotte teens hooked on fentanyl

The last bathroom stall on the left. An afternoon math class. The house across the street. This weekendโ€™s party.

Students sent Debbie Dalton letters after she spoke to them about her son, who died after taking a line of fentanyl-laced cocaine in 2016. If schools let her in, sheโ€™s one of the only sources of education North Carolina teens get on fentanylโ€™s dangers.

Fentanyl is easy for teens to get โ€” and, these days, itโ€™s even harder to escape.

After losing his best friend to the very drugs the two of them would use together, one Charlotte teen shared his winding journey from an innocent swig of liquor to a dependency on $7 pills, posing as Percocets, that circulated through his school.

โ€œI didnโ€™t know who I was,โ€ said 17-year-old Dylan Krebs, remembering the height of his addiction. โ€œI had completely forgotten everything about me.โ€

Not only could he not help himself then, he says, but his parents and teachers seemed to have no idea. He says students sold illegal painkillers in classrooms and recalls only once a teacher at school warning teens of the dangers of drugs.

โ€œEverything is laced,โ€ officials have long warned, and one fentanyl pill โ€” about 2 milligrams โ€” with the potent opioid is enough to kill a person.

Continue reading “โ€˜Not my kid.โ€™ How $7 pills get Charlotte teens hooked on fentanyl”

Barb Walsh, founder and executive director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina

The fentanyl crisis has taken the lives of more than 13,000 North Carolinians in recent years and itโ€™s currently killing eight North Carolinians a day. The rise in overdose deaths is driven by illegally manufactured fentanyl.

The group Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina recently joined NC Newsline for an extended conversation, in which founder Barb Walsh shared her familyโ€™s story, described the organization she leads, and shared some of the policy changes the group is seeking from state leaders.

Editorโ€™s note: This is a rebroadcast of an interview NC Newsline originally aired August 20, 2023.

Listen to the interview and read the original article on the NCNewsline website.

Local mother makes it her mission to spread awareness about illicit fentanyl

Allen Michael โ€œMikeyโ€ Boyd had a โ€œheart of goldโ€ and loved interacting with people with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities. He was a โ€œbeautiful soul with a free spiritโ€ who loved his younger brothers, spending time with friends and skateboarding, his mother, Allena Hale, shares with groups of people she meets at events that raise awareness about the dangers of illicit fentanyl use.ย 

Hale, of Pamlico Beach, lost Boyd to fentanyl poisoning on March 31, 2022 when he was just 22 years old.ย 

Through her work, she hopes to educate people and comfort grieving families who have similar stories of young family members that were kind, smart and funny but met untimely deaths.ย 

What is Fentanyl?

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Pharmaceutical-grade fentanyl is used by medical professionals to treat patients with severe pain, and is used to treat patients with chronic pain who are โ€œphysically more tolerant to other opioids.โ€

When fentanyl is produced illegally, it is dropped on blotter paper, smoked, snorted/sniffed or made into pills that look similar to other opioids, per the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).ย 

Continue reading “Local mother makes it her mission to spread awareness about illicit fentanyl”

Guilford County Sheriffโ€™s Office discuss fentanyl at town hall

GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) โ€” Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers held a town hall with several senior staffers Monday night to address concerns about the detention center, crime in the county and staffing concerns in the department.  

Fentanyl took center stage, though.

โ€œThat was the day our whole world came crashing down โ€ฆ Since then, itโ€™s been my mission to bring attention and awareness to fentanyl,โ€ said Debbie Peeden, a grandmother who lost her granddaughter to fentanyl poisoning two years ago.  

Continue reading “Guilford County Sheriffโ€™s Office discuss fentanyl at town hall”

UNC student’s family seeks justice for overdose death

The family of a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill freshman student who died after overdosing on fentanyl-laced cocaine on the campus of Duke University is seeking some justice for their daughter.

So far, no one has been charged in the death of Elizabeth Grace Burton, or Gracie as her family called her. She was 19 years old.

Court documents reveal Burton became “unsteady” and “wobbly on her feet” about an hour after meeting with a suspected drug dealer on March 9 outside a Duke student’s dorm. The former Duke student is Patrick Rowland, who pleaded guilty to a drug distribution charge.

An autopsy revealed Burton died two days after investigators said she met up with Rowland after a party and contacted him to buy cocaine.

Continue reading “UNC student’s family seeks justice for overdose death”

Fentanyl family summit allows loved ones to heal and connect

12 hours ago Connor Doherty

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) โ€” Since 2013, over 15,000 North Carolinians have died from fentanyl poisoning, with 886 of those deaths occurring in the Cape Fear.

To spread awareness and help families heal, the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina held its 3rd Family Summit of 2023 in Carolina Beach, with the previous 2 having been held in Raleigh and Boone.

More than a dozen families came out for the summit to learn more about what they can do to continue fighting for their loved ones to receive justice.

Additionally, several parents and siblings shared their stories of what happened to their loved ones.

The networkโ€™s executive director Barb Walsh lost her daughter Sophia to fentanyl poisoning after she unintentionally drank a contaminated bottle of water.

Walsh said being able to learn more about fentanyl helped her and will also help the families of itโ€™s victims.

โ€œI went down into a black hole like all these families do and it takes a while and some people never come back out,โ€ Walsh said. โ€œBut when I did, I knew that I needed to know more about fentanyl, I needed to learn about the laws and many of these families helped get this law passed.โ€

Walsh was glad to see so many families come to the summit as Sophiaโ€™s death is what drove her to join the Fentanyl Victims Network.

โ€œThis is very healing, itโ€™s healing for me to be able to help other families.โ€

Kami Perez lost her daughter after she took a xanax pill given to her that had more than 13 milligrams of fentanyl in it.

While this was Perezโ€™ first summit, she hopes to be able to help other families when they come to future summits.

โ€œI want to be able to be that voice for her and to others who may also be a victim as well, because they donโ€™t have any voices, they canโ€™t have that voice anymore,โ€ Perez said. โ€œSo Iโ€™m standing in the gap for them to be that advocate, to be able to bring more attention to, I feel like, is an epidemic.โ€

North Carolina recently passed Senate Bill 189, which strengthens penalties for individuals found guilty of distributing controlled substances which result in a fatal overdose. Two individuals in the Cape Fear have been charged with death by distribution since the bill was passed.

Read full article and watch the video on the WWAYTV3 website.

New Hanover County Billboard Project

The Fentvic New Hanover Billboard project is live in New Hanover County.

The locations of the 6 public safety billboards in New Hanover County are:

  • 1. 143 S College Road + Market Street
  • 2. 5216 Oleander Drive + Hawthorne
  • 3. 1328 US 421 + Spencer Farlow Drive
  • 4. US-17 + 7491 Market Street
  • 5. US-17 + Military Cutoff exit
  • 6. US-17S + NC210

Father of fentanyl overdose victim brings awareness through digital billboards

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Alex Bradford was about to finish his sophomore year at UNCW when tragedy struck.

At just 19 years old, Alex fell victim to deadly fentanyl poisoning after ingesting fentanyl through drugs he bought from a fellow classmate. He passed away in March of 2022.

โ€œAlex suffered the same pressures as many college students do with mental health, and unknowingly ingested illicit fentanyl because he chose to self-medicate,โ€ Jeremy Bradford, Alexโ€™s father, said.

Now, after months of suffering and grief, Jeremy and Alexโ€™s Mother, Millisa, started 2 Out Rally, a foundation to honor Alexโ€™s legacy and bring awareness to the harmful impacts of fentanyl. The name was inspired by Alexโ€™s love for baseball.

A quote from the 2 Out Rally website says, โ€œ2 Out Rallyโ€ฆ.even in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, there is still time to RALLY. 1 at bat can change the outcome of the game. 1 moment can change your LIFE. NEVER give up, show love and compassion, it could save a life.โ€

Now, the Bradfords have partnered with Barb Walsh, founder of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, to include Alex in a series of digital billboards across New Hanover County. Walsh is also personally affected by fentanyl, as her daughter, Sophia, passed away from fentanyl poisoning in 2021.

Together, the team has included Alexโ€™s image and story as part of the 13 victims displayed on the billboards. Walsh says she hopes these billboards will inspire other family members of fentanyl poisoning victims to come forward and seek support. She believes that together, they can rally to end the fentanyl epidemic so that no other family has to suffer.

โ€œThose billboards are a public messaging system. Theyโ€™re a PSA. I want to replicate what the Bradfordโ€™s have done because weโ€™re not going to win this if we only work by ourselves,โ€ Walsh said.

But this battle is far from over.

โ€œYouโ€™re literally playing Russian roulette if youโ€™re choosing to utilize drugs that you donโ€™t know could be laced with fentanyl. Alex didnโ€™t know,โ€ Bradford said. โ€œItโ€™s really to bring a face to the epidemic, because it doesnโ€™t matter your economic background, your status, how you were raised, your religious belief, fentanyl does not discriminate.โ€

The locations of the 6 public safety billboards in New Hanover County are:

  • 1. 143 S College Road + Market Street
  • 2. 5216 Oleander Drive + Hawthorne
  • 3. 1328 US 421 + Spencer Farlow Drive
  • 4. US-17 + 7491 Market Street
  • 5. US-17 + Military Cutoff exit
  • 6. US-17S + NC210

If you or someone you know is personally affected by fentanyl, you can visit the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina website for more information and support.

To learn more about Alexโ€™s story, you can visit the 2 Out Rally website.

Copyright 2023 WECT. All rights reserved.

Read the full article and watch the video on the WECT News 6 web site.

Mother of NC State student who died inside her dorm shares her grief: ‘She gave most amazing hugs’

It has been eight months since Fara Eve Barnes has been without her daughter, Skye.

Skye Barnes died inside her dorm at Sullivan Hall on the campus of NC State University on February 11.

“She gave the most amazing hugs. Her hugs were not just a quick release,” said Barnes’ mother. “I miss the things that never happened that we get to have and are blessings in our lives.”

Barnes’ autopsy listed her cause of death as an atrial fibrillation to ibuprofen toxicity.

The ibuprofen overdose, according to Barnes’ mother, was due to the amount of work her computer science major daughter was taking in the spring semester.

“She had communicated how overwhelmed she was with the class load that all day every day was consumed to do homework for these 19 credits that she was guided into taking,” said Barnes. “There had not been an intention. This is the commonality in these stress casualties. You’re not finding this suicide note. Somebody hadn’t made a plan. They’re not thinking about ending their life.”

Barnes told Eyewitness News she could tell something was off with her daughter due to the course load and text messages they had exchanged.

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

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