WASHINGTON — Rep. Richard Hudson last week introduced a bill with the aim of getting rid of pharmaceuticals safely.
The Safe In-Home Drug Disposal Initiative Act of 2024, if passed, would “establish a pharmacy program to award grants for safe in-home drug disposal and practical medication safety education, and for other purposes.”
Opioids appear to be the main focus of the bill, according to a press release from Hudson’s office, with the goal of the legislation being to decrease overdoses.
Hudson’s office cites that 41-72% of opioids go unused in American households, posing “a risk to public health with unintended dangers.”
The press release states that the program would “allow pharmacists to engage with a patient at the pharmacy counter to gauge patient understanding of medication disposal and evaluate their understanding to provide disposal tools and methods to the patient.”
Iowa and Missouri have implemented safe disposal programs, according to Hudson’s office: “In these states, metrics have been put in place to evaluate disposal rates and attitude shifts towards these medicines. This pilot program is expected to expand to six additional states in the coming years.”
“Over the past decade, overdose rates have more than doubled — some of these being completely preventable,” Hudson said in a statement. “I am proud to address the opioid crisis head-on by giving incentives to provide safety education and resources for patients to dispose of their addictive medicines from their home.”
According to the N.C. Opioid Dashboard, from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, fatal overdoses in North Carolina increased from 469 in 2000 to 4,339 in 2022.
Richmond County’s overdose deaths were up and down through most of that time, however the numbers skyrocketed in recent years.
Fatal overdoses jumped from seven in 2019 to 27 in 2020, peaking at 38 in 2021 and 37 in 2022. The county’s rate of 82.5 per 100,000 the latter year was nearly twice the state’s rate of 41.4.
Neighboring Moore County also had seven overdose deaths in 2019, with fatalities spiking in the following years, peaking at 50 in 2022. Since Moore has a higher population, its rate is lower at 49.6.
The latest statistics from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner appear to show overdoses have declined over the past year and a half.
OCME data show there were 267 suspected overdoses statewide in March 2024, compared to 355 in March 2023.
The number of fentanyl-positive deaths also appear to be on the decline, from 277 in January of 2023 to 230 in January of 2024. Statewide fentanyl-positive deaths peaked at 345 in May 2023.
Most fentanyl deaths also included other drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine.
Last year, Hudson supported a bill that would reschedule fentanyl as a Schedule I drug.
Click here to read that story.
Congressional records show that bill was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 30, 2023 and there has been no action since.
Earlier this month, Shelia Bostic — founder of Darren’s Voice — the Fentanyl Victims Network of North Carolina and other families went to Raleigh to hold a press conference and meet with legislators in support of a bill to have naloxone available in schools.
Bostic’s organization is named in honor of her late son, Darren Bostic, who died after taking a fentanyl-pressed pill he thought was percocet.
Senate Bill 801,titled “Healthy and Safe Students in Every School,” would require at least one nurse and a supply of naloxone for every public school in the state.
According to the bill, 17,212 North Carolinians have died from opioid or fentanyl-involved emergencies since 2013.
The bill passed its first reading and was sent to the Senate Rules Committee. A companion bill in the House is that chamber’s Education Committee.
Bostic also met with Sen. Dave Craven, R-Randolph, to discuss the fentanyl epidemic in Richmond County.
(Note: Craven has not signed on as a co-sponsor to the bill.)
According to the OCME, there were 30 fentanyl-positive deaths in the county from February ‘23-January ‘24. Richmond County has the third-highest rate in the state at 70.1, behind Swain (78.8) and Robeson (72.0).
Other counties with top 10 highest rates are: Craven (65.4); Rowan (58.8); Cherokee (57.6); Rutherford (57.0); Vance (54.6); Buncombe (52.6); Edgecombe (51.8).
“The (opioid) fund(s) are suppose(d) to be used to help prevent deaths, help addict(s) get the help they need, and rebuild all the broken lives affected by opioids,” Bostic told the RO. “Narcan in the school system is doing just that, saving lives.”
Bostic also considers the word overdose “disrespectful” in cases of fentanyl poisoning where someone died thinking they were taking something else, rather than those who intentionally use heroin or fentanyl.
“Overdose doesn’t get a homicide investigation,” Bostic added.
Darren’s Voice has obtained its 501c3 status and is looking for a building in East Rockingham to help provide food, literacy and resources.
She said riding through the community “brought tears to my eyes.”
“(We) know it takes all boots on the ground so we (are) ready to go on that front line.”
