Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses N.C. parents’ participation in a Washington, D.C, rally about the dangers of fentanyl. King offered these comments during the Sept. 23, 2022, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”
Category: State News
Zebulon man charged in deadly heroin/fentanyl overdose, deputies say
LOUISBURG, N.C. (WNCN) — Franklin County deputies have arrested a Zebulon man in a deadly overdose earlier this year, officials said.
Luis Santiago Franco, 20, died on May 21 at his home, according to his obituary and a news release from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives later determined that heroin/fentanyl was Franco’s cause of death.
Read the full article on the CBS 17 web site.
Anti-fentanyl groups with local ties rally in Washington

Sep. 21—WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patricia Drewes joined anti-fentanyl advocates from across the country Saturday to demand greater effort from the federal government in addressing the ongoing fentanyl crisis.
Drewes co-founded Forgotten Victims of Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren Counties, which last month held a similar rally in Raleigh.
Read the full article on the Henderson Dispatch web site (subscription required) or on Yahoo News.
Patricia Drewes interview with Greta Van Sustere
On Wednesday Sept 21, 2022 Patricia Drewes on The Record with Greta Van Susteren on NewsMax.
Narcan Vending Machine in Orange County
This new vending machine in Orange County could save opioid users’ lives
People who use opioids and are at-risk of an accidental overdose can now get a life-saving overdose reversal kit — from a local vending machine.
The Orange County jail has become one of the few facilities in the state to offer free Narcan nasal spray for drug overdoses, county officials announced.
Narcan, a medicine used to quickly treat an opioid overdose, is available 24 hours a day in a vending machine in the lobby of the Orange County Detention Center at 1200 U.S. 70 West in Hillsborough.
Read full article on Aol/News & Observer.
22 Pounds of fentanyl siezed in Forsyth County

Detectives in Forsyth County, North Carolina, have seized over $2.6 million of fentanyl – enough of the deadly drug to kill 5 million people – in the largest bust in the county’s history, authorities said last week.
Read the full story here.
WCNC Charlotte story on James D’Alo

Faced with an uncontrollable number of drug overdose deaths, North Carolina leaders passed a bi-partisan law meant to hold drug dealers accountable, but a WCNC Charlotte investigation found police rarely arrested suspects for the newly created charge of death by distribution in the first two years of its existence.
The felony, when charged as “aggravated,” holds a sentence of up to 40 years in prison, but court records reveal few drug dealers across the state actually face the crime.
Izzy D’Alo is still waiting for justice a year after her father’s fatal overdose. James D’Alo died on Jan. 18, 2021, in Stallings, North Carolina — a southeastern suburb of Charlotte. The medical examiner ruled the 50-year-old’s death accidental and suspected fentanyl as the source.
“I had a feeling my dad was just going to be viewed as another drug addict and he wasn’t,” his daughter said. “Since he died, I’ve learned a lot about him and his struggles and what drove him to that path and it’s really sad.”
Izzy D’Alo
FULL STORY: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/cri…
222 people died from overdoses in Wake County last year

222 people died from overdoses in Wake last year. Here is the county’s opioids plan.
With a solemn but hopeful yes, Wake leaders put the county’s first dollars from the national opioid settlement into action Tuesday night. “We’re taking a comprehensive approach to get folks on the path to recovery,” said Denise Forman, assistant Wake County manager.
Read the article on the N&O web site.
App State to offer free naloxone, fentanyl test kits

Wellness and Prevention services at App State have begun offering free fentanyl test strip kits and naloxone to students who anonymously request the service through their website or request them in office, according to Anna Oakes, News and Media Relations Director at the university.
Fentanyl is now a felony in North Carolina
This article was originally posted on the Southern Scoop on September 17, 2021. It is being reposted as a resource to the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed Senate Bill 321 into law Thursday afternoon, which has several changes to the state’s Controlled Substances Act, most notably now classifying and possession amount of Fentanyl as a felony. North Carolina Senator Kevin Corbin served as a co-sponsor of the legislation and said this is a needed step for the state.


