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Bill strengthening penalties for fentanyl distribution signed into law

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Fentanyl overdoses are killing on average ten people every day in North Carolina.

Now, the state is working to reduce drug distribution, specifically fentanyl-related incidents.

Senate Bill 189, Fentanyl Drug Offense and Related Changes, was recently passed by the General Assembly and has been signed into law by Governor Cooper.

The bill strengthens a current law related to the distribution of controlled substances when they result in a person’s death. A controlled substance can be any form of opium or opiate, cocaine, methamphetamine, or any combination of these substances, including fentanyl.

The bill was designed to increase penalties for North Carolina’s Death by Distribution law. If a person dies as a result of a controlled substance, the person who delivered the substance to the victim will be punished as a Class C felony, which results in automatic prison time. More penalties may follow if the person who distributed the controlled substance acts with malice or has a previous conviction for a controlled substance violation.

Proof of sale to the victim is also no longer required to hold a person responsible for killing someone, a distributor could simply give someone the drug to be charged.

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

Law change should make it easier to prosecute those who sell deadly drugs

Victims’ families say “death by distribution” laws are a step forward, but they want more prosecutions.

With overdose deaths at all-time highs, North Carolina lawmakers moved this year to make easier to prosecute drug dealers who sell a fatal dose.

Victims’ families say “death by distribution” laws are a step forward, but they want more prosecutions.

Debbie Peeden’s granddaughter, Ashley, overdosed in a Greensboro apartment in 2021.

In the years since, Peeden has been relentless: holding signs in the rain outside the state capitol, showing up at meetings and reaching out to law enforcement, all to try and raise awareness of the threat of fentanyl, and a tool she says prosecutors often fail to use: North Carolina’s death by distribution law.

She saw some success last week when Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law a change that makes it easier to link a drug dealer to an overdose death. The law now no longer requires proof that drugs were sold to the victim in the case of a fatal overdose, just that those drugs were supplied by the suspect.

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

Families advocate for more education and legislation to prevent fentanyl-related deaths

According to the CDC, more than 150 people die everyday to opioids, including fentanyl. Over 13,000 NC families have lost a loved one to the deadly illicit drug.

BURLINGTON, N.C. — According to the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, 8 people die each day from fentanyl poisoning. 

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, 100x stronger than morphine. 

It can be mixed with illegal drugs, made into pills, and even candies. 

In the eyes of more than 13,000 North Carolina families, fentanyl is a killer. 

“We probably already have surpassed 14,000, that’s enough to fill the Charlotte Knights stadium of dead people,” said Barb Walsh, the Executive Director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.

Walsh lost her daughter, Sophia, to fentanyl poisoning. 

She hosts events throughout the state to let other families to know, they are not alone.  

“You go into a black hole when your child dies and some people don’t come out. I am there for them. I go to the court dates. I feel lucky enough to get them, hold events like this, so they can meet other people who are going through the same thing,” said Walsh.

Read the full article and watch the news segment on the WFMY News 2 website.

Demonstrators call for more federal help to address fentanyl epidemic

WRAL News coverage of the National Fentanyl Rally held in Washington DC on September 23, 2023.

Hundreds of people from around the country attended the march and rally outside the White House yesterday. It was organized by Lost Voices of Fentanyl.

Rockingham County holds town hall on dangers of fentanyl

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY, N.C. — Students, teachers, and parents will attend a town hall Tuesday night in Rockingham County to talk about the dangers of fentanyl. 

It’s a hot topic that’s growing as Rockingham County joins Guilford County on the matter.

Guilford County hosted town halls last spring. The town halls came about after a survey at Northern Guilford High School showed nearly 90% of students said drugs were a problem at school.

Kathleen Smith helped plan that meeting. She’s happy to see more counties doing the same.

“It feels really good, but you don’t want to pat yourself on the back too much as a school community, knowing there’s just so much more work to be done, and you know, the problem is really pervasive. I sat down with some moms and kids not long ago on my back porch and you know, I had this girl who I highly respect, who is in college; she’s just like, ‘Ms. Smith, everybody does it,’ kind of like, get over it, but that’s not what I want. We want to raise our kids to treat their bodies, for the most part, like cathedrals,” Smith said.

Law enforcement officials said fentanyl really ramped up in 2015. They said what used to be a heroin problem is now a fentanyl problem.

Read the full article and watch the video on the WFMY News2 website.

‘Unacceptable.’ Rise in fentanyl-related deaths has parents, activists sounding alarm in NC

NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) — As parents and activists raise their voices for action on Fentanyl Awareness Day, new data from the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office shows the fentanyl problem is only getting worse in North Carolina.

In fact, there were more fentanyl-related deaths reported in just the first five months of this year compared to all of 2016 and 2017 combined. In the last twelve months in North Carolina, there have been 3,433 reported fentanyl-related deaths.

“We’re losing. we’re losing kids. We’re losing grandbabies. We’re losing sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, and it’s unacceptable,” said Barb Walsh, Executive Director of the non-profit Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina.

Walsh lost her daughter, Sophia, to Fentanyl in August of 2021, after she drank a water bottle she didn’t know had fentanyl diluted in it. She said prosecutors’ decision not to press charges was crushing.

“It’s devastating to a family to know who killed your child and not be able to do anything about it,” said Walsh.

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

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Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina hosts fentanyl awareness rally in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — As fentanyl awareness and prevention day approaches, many people gathered for a rally at the state capital Sunday.

The rally was to help raise awareness about the innocent teenage victims who have died by unintentionally encountering fentanyl in fake prescription medications like Adderall, Xanax and Percocet.

It was hosted by the group Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina, who are pushing for the passage of Senate bills 189 and Senate Bill 250, which would modify the Death by Distribution Law.

According to the group, 13,671 North Carolina residents have been killed by Fentanyl in the past nine years, and eight NC residents die each day by Fentanyl.

Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina is also calling for an increase in salaries and hiring chemists to process toxicology reports and the investigation of drug-related deaths.

Monday will mark National Fentanyl Awareness and Prevention Day.

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

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Victims of fentanyl poisonings push for broader jurisdiction of fentanyl laws

A group of activists rallied outside the State Capitol Sunday afternoon to push for tougher punishments for people who illegally distribute fentanyl.

The group is pushing for two bills to pass, Senate Bill 189 and House Bill 250.

If the bills pass, it would broaden who gets criminally prosecuted for distributing fentanyl. As it stands, North Carolina is one of the few states that has a death-by-distribution law.

That law allows district attorneys to prosecute people who sell drugs that lead to an overdose death.

The bills would allow district attorneys to prosecute people for not just selling drugs, but for general distribution, even if there is no money involved.

“They would see the person who killed their son, or daughter, or wife or cousin in the courtroom,” Executive Director of the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina Barb Walsh said. “And there’s no words for that.”

Walsh and her group have been connecting family members of fentanyl overdose victims with one another to form a support group.

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

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