Tag: hunter dalton

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.

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‘We are in the business of saving lives’ | NC leaders seeking solutions to the fentanyl crisis

State and local leaders held a press conference Wednesday to highlight strategies to mitigate the fentanyl epidemic in Mecklenburg County.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden, Attorney General Josh Stein and other federal, state, and Charlotte leaders are seeking solutions to the fentanyl crisis.

Sheriff McFadden hosted a press conference Wednesday at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center in order to highlight some of the work done to combat the rise in fentanyl-related deaths.

According to the United States Department of Justice, the number of fentanyl seizures in 2024 represents over 82 million deadly doses.

Around 10 people die in North Carolina every day because of fentanyl, according to Stein. 

During the press conference, leaders discussed efforts by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office to train staff members on administering Narcan. These efforts saved over a dozen lives this past year. 

“People are dying from this drug thinking that they’re taking something simple, but it’s laced with fentanyl,” Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden said.

Also, in November of 2023, the Arrest Processing Center lobby received a Narcan vending machine, which is accessible to anyone. Additionally, Sheriff McFadden installed 39 Narcan alarm boxes that were placed in resident pods.

“Should Narcan be in schools? Absolutely. In every classroom? Absolutely. At every nightclub? Absolutely, why? Because we are in the business of saving lives,” Sheriff McFadden said. 

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‘No person that is safe’: Families continue the fight against fentanyl during victim summit

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.

Continue reading “‘No person that is safe’: Families continue the fight against fentanyl during victim summit”
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