Stein says fentanyl must be stopped at the Mexican border
In order to combat the fentanyl epidemic in North Carolina, two things need to be done, Attorney General Josh Stein said at a press conference Wednesday: Reduce supply of the drug, and reduce its demand.
He said that means focusing on the U.S. border with Mexico.
Speaking at the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office, Stein, along with other local, state, and law-enforcement leaders, highlighted efforts to combat the crisis and what they said should be done to help.
Stein said drug companies have paid $56 billion in settlements nationally, with $1.5 billion going to North Carolina. Of that, he said, $73 million will go to Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
“That money can only be used for those issues of prevention, treatment, harm reduction, or recovery,” said Stein, who is the Democratic nominee for governor this year.
Overdoses down so far
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings also spoke at the event, saying that since the beginning of the year, overdoses are down 30% compared to the same time frame last year. Calls to CMPD for overdoses are down 19%, he said.
“But that’s not nearly enough,” Jennings said. “This is a crisis that we should never want to see this many people in our communities dying every single day - that we truly need to get our hands around and do something different.”
Sheriff Garry McFadden highlighted vending machines stocked with free Narcan, the life-saving nasal spray that can be administered when someone is overdosing, placed in the lobby of the Mecklenburg Sheriff’s Office headquarters.
He also said his staff is being trained with administering Narcan, and it’s available in sheriff’s facilities.
More still needed
But with nine people dying on average each day in North Carolina with fentanyl in their system, Stein said, more needs to be done to combat trafficking of the drug.
State Sen. Mujtaba A. Mohammed at the news conference said preventative steps need to be taken. He pointed to things like Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools stocking every school with Narcan as an example the state should follow.
And U.S. Attorney Dena J. King and officials highlighted some of the recent prosecutions of drug traffickers who distribute large quantities of fentanyl. A man named Javonte Miller was found with over 1,100 methamphetamine pills weighing over 400 grams and illegal firearms.
She said her office was able to conduct “lengthy, detailed” investigations through partnerships with law enforcement agencies, such as the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“As prosecutors we’re doing what we do best,” King said. “We’re investigating and bringing to justice through prosecutions those responsible for fueling this epidemic.”
Finding balance
District Attorney Spencer Merriweather, Rep. Mary Belk, as well as Debbie Dalton, a parent whose son, Hunter, died from drugs laced with fentanyl, also spoke at the event.
Stein and King were asked about how they would balance the work on reducing supply and demand of fentanyl while also addressing families with loved ones who are seeing prosecutors drop some defendants’ charges of death by distribution.
King said it’s important for district attorneys to work closely with local law enforcement in instances of deaths involving fentanyl to determine the “most appropriate venue” for prosecuting those cases.
Merriweather addressed the topic of death-by-distribution cases.
“If we can prove it, we’ll prosecute it,” he said. “If it is within our power, within our authority to prosecute that case, to prove it, we’ll do it.”
But he said prosecutors must be able to prove that an overdose death was tied to a particular person who provided the drugs, he said.
“That’s why it’s so important that all of our prosecuting authorities do everything that we can to start at supply,” Merriweather said. “Now, if we have a case, and we know it and we can pinpoint exactly who it is that supplied somebody - who poisoned and killed them - we will treat that like a killing. And you have my word on that.”
Fentanyl X-ray machines
Stein also said that, after previously calling on Congress to fund a fentanyl X-ray screening machine at the U.S.-Mexico border, the money was included in the recent bipartisan budget that was signed by the president last week.
Asked about the X-ray machines at the border, and how that would help North Carolina, Stein said that “we have to do everything we can” to stop fentanyl from entering the state.
He said it predominantly comes through Mexico via passenger vehicles.
The X-ray machine, which he described as “massive,” is large enough to fit an 18-wheeler through it, and can detect whether there are illicit drugs, like fentanyl, in the vehicle.
This story was originally published March 28, 2024 at 3:17 PM.
