The data is obtained from the Richmond County Emergency Medical Systems operated by FirstHealth of the Carolinas and reflects the number of patients given Naloxone for overdose, the amount administered, and the number of doses given by the local paramedics and law enforcement officials. 

Naloxone blocks or reverses the effects of opioid medication, including extreme drowsiness, slowed breathing, or loss of consciousness. Naloxone nasal spray is used to treat an opioid overdose in an emergency but does not replace emergency medical care. Naloxone is safe and has few side effects, and friends and family can administer some forms, such as nasal spray. 

In 2018, North Carolina had an opioid-related death rate of 22%, with Richmond County slightly lower at 15.6%. This is no longer the case, in 2022, Richmond County had a 69.2% opioid-related death rate compared to the State rate of 36.9%, and research shows that 90% of the deaths were unintentional. Naloxone/Narcan saves lives and gives a person a chance at recovery.  

Elevated Naloxone dosage may be due to fentanyl use (intentional or otherwise) in fake pills and other substances with as little as two milligrams considered a potentially fatal dose. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine is cheaper to produce and distribute has also contributed to the surge in counterfeit pills that are mass-produced in labs, deceptively marketed as legitimate, and are killing Americans at an unprecedented rate (US DEA, 2023).  

Another reason for the high rates in dosages per person is the newest street drug called Carfentanil, a synthetic opioid, which is a white powdery substance that looks like cocaine or heroin. Mixed with heroin to make the heroin stronger, Carfentanil is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl (Just Think Twice, 2023). It is used to tranquilize elephants and other large mammals and is so powerful that multiple doses of Naloxone may not be effective. 

United States Drug Enforcement Administration (US DEA). (2023, August 30). Public safety alert. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. https://www.dea.gov/alert/dea-laboratory-testing-reveals-6-out-10-fentanyl-laced-fake-prescription-pills-now-contain

Just Think Twice. (2023, August  30). Five quick facts: Carfentanil. Get the facts about drugs: Just think twice. https://www.justthinktwice.gov/article/five-quick-facts-carfentanil

• Richmond County Department of Social Services DEFT | Richmond County, NC - Official Website (richmondnc.com)
  The Richmond County Drug Endangered Family Taskforce (DEFT) was formed to address the opioid crisis in our local neighborhoods. Community stakeholders, county government, and local agencies have joined forces to provide treatment resources and community education. We are committed to bringing awareness and prevention to Richmond County and its residents by working with local providers to reduce the supply of prescription opioids, increase community awareness and prevention, and supply naloxone to family, friends, and other interested parties who may work, live or know those who may use opioids.  
• Sandhills Opioid Response Consortium Substance Use Disorder | NC | FirstHealth of the Carolinas
  A FirstHealth community coalition committed to reducing opioid-related overdoses in Moore, Montgomery, Lee, Hoke, and Richmond counties. We work with our partners in each county to provide peer support, caregiver support, harm reduction kits, medicine for opioid use disorders, support groups, and syringe exchanges. We also support our partners in building community awareness by providing podcasts, virtual support, and community events like Drop Box locations. 
• Hamlet City Police Police Department (hamletnc.us) 
  Our agency, through investigations both self-initiated and community-driven, locates and finds both those using opioids and illegally selling opioids. In addition, we reach out to those who have addictions and try to provide resources to aid in recovery. We believe that both aiding in recovery as well as stopping the illegal supply of opioids is the best way we, as officers, can help the community.
• Rockingham City Police Rockingham Police Department Rockingham NC (gorockinghampd.com) 
  The Mission of the Rockingham Police Department is to enforce the laws and ordinances of the State of North Carolina and the City of Rockingham. By providing quality law enforcement, we safeguard lives, enhance community safety, protect property, and reduce the impact and fear of crime. Our officers seek and preserve public confidence by the impartial observance of the law and by offering service and trust to all members of the public.
• Richmond County School System Richmond County Schools 
  The school system teaches drug awareness and avoidance. Richmond County Schools celebrate Red Ribbon Week in the elementary grades each fall, which supports students being drug-free! Each school utilizes counselors and teaching staff to highlight NC curriculum standards and stand-alone activities to promote students being drug-free.
• FirstHealth Emergency Medical Services Emergency Medical Services (EMS) (firsthealth.org)
  FirstHealth EMS is a nonprofit service that provides transports for 911 patients in Chatham, Montgomery, and Richmond counties. With 40 ambulances and 200 employees, the FirstHealth Regional EMS System is one of the largest ambulance systems in North Carolina, covering more than 3,000 square miles. Each county is unique but provides a high level of Advanced Life Support (ALS) care to all our patients. Together with our Medical Transport Team, FirstHealth EMS transports approximately 23,000 patients each year to a variety of destinations around the state.
• Richmond County Sherriff's Department Richmond County Sheriff, NC | Official Website
  Our mission is to improve the quality of life in our county by reducing fear, preventing crime, and enforcing the law while protecting each individual’s freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

Strategies to encourage the use of Naloxone include accessibility, education, and training of the community to know when and how to use the product.  Naloxone is a product that is administered to someone who is suspected of opioid overdose and restores normal breathing and consciousness within 1 to 5 minutes with little to no effect if opioids are absent. However, in people with opioids in their system, it may cause increased sweating, nausea, restlessness, trembling, vomiting, flushing, and headache. In addition, in rare cases, it has been associated with heart rhythm changes. DEFT is instrumental in putting Naloxone in the hands of people who may know someone who is at risk for opioid overdose as well as the implementation of high-impact media campaigns to warn people about substance misuse. Another strategy in use is the education and training in the administration of Naloxone to anyone who works with those in high-risk areas such as peer support specialists, social workers, and police.

This year (August 2023), The DEFT action plan will begin the disbursement of opioid settlement funds to the selected local agencies as small grants of $50,000 each.  Monthly reports will be made at each DEFT meeting, and the newly established monitoring committee will assess their work quarterly.  Funds were set aside to fund a Naloxone depository at the local Emergency Medical Systems facility for local agencies to replenish their supply.  Ongoing actions will be documented as they unfold. 

Authority has been delegated by the Richmond County Board of County Commissioners to the Richmond County Drug Endangered Family Taskforce (DEFT) in accordance with the Resolution by the County of Richmond to Direct the Expenditures of Opioid Settlement Funds. Although under this authority, all final decisions must be met by the Board of County Commissioners approval for any DEFT recommendations for the Opioid Settlement Funds. 

As of September 2023, opioid settlement funds have not been disbursed to the grantees.  It is our hope that within the 2023 year, we see reports from the programs that can be reported here.