Awareness

The opioid epidemic is ever-growing, and it affects each of us in some way. From 2000 to 2023 more than 41,500 North Carolinians lost their lives to drug overdose. Each day in 2023, 12 people in North Carolina died from drug overdoses, totaling 4,442 lives lost within the year. 50 of those individuals were in Caldwell County.  

In 2023, 3,403 individuals out of the 4,442 total overdose deaths involved illicit opioids in North Carolina. In Caldwell County, 29 of the 50 individual overdoses, involved illicit opioids. 

The data shows that the majority of overdoses involve illicit opioids. Illicit opioids are manufactured in foreign labs, brought into the United States and distributed all over the country. Fentanyl is being mixed into other drugs such as, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. It can be in powder form or pressed into pills, made to look exactly like legitimate prescription pills. These pressed pills are not regulated and most the time, they contain lethal doses of fentanyl. Fentanyl is a potent drug with a low cost, so the likelihood of illegal drugs risk contaminated with fentanyl is significant. 

Two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on the person's body size, tolerance and last use. The DEA conducted an analysis of counterfeit pills and found a range of .02 to 5.1 milligrams (over twice the amount of a lethal dose) per pill.  

Fentanyl has no taste or smell, and it can be in any illegal drug without the consumer knowing. It also can be what an individual is looking for, however, there is no way of knowing if it contains a lethal dose. Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, are the leading cause of overdose deaths in the United States.  

Caldwell County PORT wants to educate and warn our community about the dangers of all substances, but especially fentanyl. It is not safe to trust that any pill that is not prescribed to you by a Licensed Medical Professional.