Fentanyl Coverage

What North Carolina law says about Fentanyl testing strips

A group of students at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill are working together to prevent overdoses and fentanyl poisoning on campus.

Do youth anti-drug campaigns actually work?

Programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in Charlotte use modern slang to communicate a timeless message: Drugs can kill.

The language evolves, but facts are necessary to convince people not to experiment with drugs

Programs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in Charlotte use modern slang to communicate a timeless message: Drugs can kill.

Dan Haggerty, WRAL anchor/reporter

UNC students hand out fentanyl test strips, naloxone kits

UNC-Chapel Hill students are creating resources to help prevent overdoses and fentanyl poisoning on campus.

UNC student group offers free naloxone and fentanyl testing strips

A group of students at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill are working together to prevent overdoses and fentanyl poisoning on campus.

Destinee Patterson, WRAL reporter

Fentanyl bust in Lee County leads to father, son arrest

Around two pounds of fentanyl was found on a father and son in Lee County.

Lee County father, son arrested for possessing enough fentanyl to kill 500,000 people

A father and son were arrested in Lee County after agents found enough fentanyl to potentially kill 500,000 people during a traffic stop.

Chapel Hill pharmaceutical company developing drug to reduce fatal overdoses

Chapel Hill-based Cessation Therapeutics says its monoclonal antibody therapy, CSX-1004, can block the dangerous effects of fentanyl.

Man charged with concealment of death after body found in Orange County; fentanyl and cocaine found in victim's blood

Randel L. Riggsbee was charged Monday with concealment of death in connection with the body of Susan Margaret Horkay being found in the woods off Heron Pond Drive.

UNC student's family seeks justice for overdose death

On March 9, 2023, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student Elizabeth Burton overdosed on fentanyl outside a Duke University dorm.

'She had a bright future ahead of her': Family seeks justice after UNC freshman overdoses on Duke campus

On March 9, 2023, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student Elizabeth Burton overdosed on fentanyl outside a Duke University dorm.

Matt Talhelm, WRAL reporter

Fighting fentanyl abuse: Chapel Hill startup shares in $14.8M federal grant to support overdose treatment

CHAPEL HILL — Cessation Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that focuses on developing treatments for substance abuse, has received a new […]

A UNC student OD'd on Duke campus, and it took a student journalist to bring the story to light

On March 9, 2023, a freshman from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill overdosed on fentanyl outside a Duke University dorm. Very few people knew about her death, until a Duke student journalist started investigating.

WRAL staff

UNC student dies from fentanyl overdose on Duke campus

19-year-old Grace Burton, a freshman at UNC Chapel Hill overdosed on fentanyl on the Duke University campus earlier this year.

Victims' families want more prosecutions for dealers who sell deadly drugs

North Carolina lawmakers moved this year to make easier to prosecute drug dealers who sell a fatal dose.

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.

Eric Miller, WRAL anchor/reporter

Parents warned of rainbow fentanyl

The Drug Enforcement Administration has put out warnings about "rainbow fentanyl" being used as a tactic to entice young people.

Safe Kids NC puts out warning to parents after colorful fentanyl found

The Drug Enforcement Administration has put out warnings about "rainbow fentanyl" being used as a tactic to entice young people.

Keely Arthur, WRAL consumer reporter

Demonstrators call for more federal help to address fentanyl epidemic

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.

Deadly overdoses increasing each year in NC, state data shows

State data shows between Jan. 1 and July 31, there are 2,481 people who have died from drug overdoses in North Carolina. Between Jan. 1, 2022, and July 31, 2022, there were 2,414 overdose deaths, the data shows.

Nearly 12 people die each day in NC from overdoses, state data shows

In the first six months of 2023, there were 2,481 people who died from a drug overdose in North Carolina.

WRAL Staff

Rally held outside State Capitol to expand death by distribution law

Currently, two bills are in rules committees that would expand who can be punished under North Carolina's death-by-distribution law.

'There are no words for that': Victims of fentanyl poisonings push for broader jurisdiction of fentanyl laws

Activists rallied outside the State Capitol to push for tougher laws on people who distribute fentanyl.

Carly Haynes, WRAL reporter

'They are dealing death': WRAL Investigates goes undercover to get firsthand look at fentanyl crisis in NC

It's a killer the size of grain of sand or the tip of a pen. Illegal fentanyl is running rampant through North Carolina, and the consequences are terrifying.

Chelsea Donovan, WRAL reporter

WRAL goes undercover with local agents battling the war on fentanyl

WRAL News goes undercover with local agents battling the war on fentanyl. See the efforts to keep this deadly drug out of your family's hands.