More than 13,000 people have died in North Carolina alone in the past nine years from fentanyl. A half-day family summit will be held in Raleigh on Saturday, designed to be part awareness, part education, and part support for those who have family members who have died from fentanyl poisoning.
“Poisoning” is the term Patricia Drewes prefers to “overdose” when describing the unintended deaths that occur all too frequently, especially with teens and young adults.
Drewes founded Forgotten Victims of North Carolina following the 2019 death of her daughter Heaven. She spoke with John C. Rose on Thursday’s segment of The Local Skinny! and said the summit has reached its capacity and will not be able to accept additional registrations.
Within a few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the now-familiar phrase of “the 3 W’s – Wear, Wash, Wait” became a household term. Drewes said there needs to be a similar campaign to warn and educate the public on the dangers of illicit fentanyl.
“Commercials, billboards – we need to be teaching it in schools, discussing it in our churches,” Drewes said. “I don’t feel like North Carolina is doing enough,” she said.
She said law enforcement officers should carry Narcan – a overdose antidote of a sort – on their belts just like they do other useful tools like flashlights. Often, they arrive on the scene before EMS and administering Narcan could save a life.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is among those scheduled to speak, as well as victims’ family members, state and federal law enforcement and representatives of local nonprofits.
Drewes and Barb Walsh, executive director of Fentanyl Victims Network of NC are among the organizers of the summit, which will be held at the McKimmon Conference Center from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
One of the goals of the summit is to educate and increase awareness, but also to let families know that they are not alone in their grief or in their struggle.
Drewes’s group has grown to five chapters that covers at least half the state; email her at patriciadrewes@yahoo.com to learn more about Forgotten Victims of North Carolina.
Following are some sobering statistics regarding fentanyl use in North Carolina:
- 8 deaths each day in North Carolina from fentanyl
- N.C. ranks 6thin fentanyl fatalities
- Fentanyl is the leading cause of death in N.C. and the U.S. for people 18-35
- 88 percent of all N.C. medicine/drug toxicity deaths involve fentanyl
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