How fentanyl traffickers are exploiting a U.S. trade law to kill Americans.
Read Reuters’ FENTANYL EXPRESS | Part 1 on Reuters.com.
Reuters: FENTANYL EXPRESS | PART 2
Tag: resource
Reuters: FENTANYL EXPRESS | PART 1
We bought everything needed to make $3 million worth of fentanyl. All it took was $3,600 and a web browser
Read Reuters’ FENTANYL EXPRESS | Part 1 on Reuters.com.
Harnett County Naloxone in Schools Policy
Fentvic is tracking policy for Naloxone in schools across the state. To make the policies easier to find, a table has been added to this page. Harnett County Schools has been added to the table.
If you have information on a county not recorded in the table, please share the URL with us by sending it to naloxone@fentvic.org.
Wake County Naloxone in Schools Policy
Fentvic is tracking policy for Naloxone in schools across the state. To make the policies easier to find, a table has been added to this page. Wake County Schools has been added to the table.
If you have information on a county not recorded in the table, please share the URL with us by sending it to naloxone@fentvic.org.
Naloxone distribution efforts help fight opioid crisis in NC
Watch the video and read the article on the WRAL TV5 News website.
Naloxone is now widely carried by first responders and police. Distribution efforts have also helped make the medication available to community partners.
Naloxone has quickly become a central part of harm reduction efforts nationally and within North Carolina.
The medication comes in two main forms: an injection and nasal spray. Both work to save lives by reversing the effects of an opioid overdose.
Naloxone is now widely carried by first responders and police. Distribution efforts have also helped make the medication available to community partners.
“Harm reduction is the first line of defense we have. It is the on the ground, in the community response. It is by people with lived experience for people with lived experience,” shared Elyse Powell, executive director of the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition.
Efforts to bring naloxone into school systems are also expanding, including in Wake County Schools. School officials tell WRAL News training efforts are underway to prepare for the distribution of the medication to schools this year.
Continue reading “Naloxone distribution efforts help fight opioid crisis in NC”Wake County to take fight against opioid addiction and overdoses to the streets
Read the original article on the News & Observer website (may be behind a pay wall).
Lindsey Humphreys has been recovering from opioid addiction for the last five years, she said.
She’s known people in Wake County who have died from opioids because they didn’t have access to naloxone, a life-saving drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdose.
“I decided to be part of the solution and just started to distribute this,” she said. “I have been doing it for the last couple of years in the memory of some of my friends who passed.”
Humphreys is the executive director of Illuminate NC, an organization that helps distribute naloxone in Wake and Vance counties. Illuminate distributes about 300 naloxone units a month, she said.
Continue reading “Wake County to take fight against opioid addiction and overdoses to the streets”The Fentanyl Crisis In America
Join Jeremy Kelsay, the founder of “Every 11 Minutes,” as he appears on Dr. Phil Primetime’s Morning on Merritt Street to address the growing fentanyl crisis. Discover shocking new statistics revealing a death every 5 minutes due to this crisis. Dive into conversations about innovative harm reduction strategies to tackle opioid addiction and find sustainable solutions. Tune in for crucial insights and discussions on combating this urgent issue.
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.
Davidson County nonprofit pushes for opioid overdose-reversing drug in all NC schools
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.
Local rapper hosts fundraiser and music video shoot for fentanyl awareness
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Rapper 22Jax wants to give a voice to families who have lost loved ones because of fentanyl and spread awareness about the drug.
On Sunday in Legion Stadium, rapper Alexander Whittington, also known as “22Jax,” held a music video shoot and fundraising event for fentanyl awareness.
“The main purpose of this event is to inspire more people to speak up that felt as though they lost their voice or felt that the memory of their loved ones are lost,” said 22Jax.
The music video shoot is for 22Jax’s new song “For Y’all” featuring musician LadyDice. The song was released earlier this month, and 40% of the song’s proceeds will go to organizations helping raise fentanyl awareness.
22Jax says it is more than just addiction and overdoses. “The insane thing is, all these things are happening and no one is doing anything, so I decided to use my platform to reach the youth and grab all of these organizations,” said 22Jax.
“It wasn’t until I really got involved with the song that I was really educated. The numbers and the statistics, it’s out of this world. I just feel like people need to know more and I am just trying to forward the education that I have received and try to save some lives,” said LadyDice.
Michiko’s Voice is a non-profit based out of Johnson County and is one of the organizations that will receive proceeds from For Y’all. Kamaya Duff lost her 23-year-old sister Michiko, who died from fentanyl poisoning.
Duff says her sister unknowingly took 29mg of fentanyl.
“When my sister passed we were lost, it took us 15-18 months to get her toxicology back,” said Duff.
Many families in attendance at the music video and fundraiser event say they waited months before finding out the cause of death of their loved ones. They say it’s a healing experience to be around other people who have experienced similar pain.
“There is no stigma, it can happen to anyone, first-time users, non-users, addicts. It can happen to anyone,” said Duff. “It can be any adult or child it happens to the innocent and the non-innocent,” she added.
The event also had free Naloxone and training to help prevent fentanyl poisoning and save lives. 22Jax says he appreciates the community support and hopes to keep spreading fentanyl awareness across the state and country.
“It’s overwhelming, I didn’t think the turnout would be so well,” said 22Jax.
Read the article on the WECT News 6 website.