Release date:
3/30/2017
(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today hosted sponsors of the Synthetic Opioid Control Act, sheriffs, police chiefs, a judge and a district attorney to discuss the bill’s importance. Right now, drug traffickers are able to market fentanyl analogues designed to mimic the effect of opioids while avoiding classification as illegal or controlled substances. This legislation makes the entire chemical backbone of the fentanyl molecule a highly regulated controlled substance.
“At least 77 people died last year from an overdose of a drug that is not illegal in North Carolina,” said AG Josh Stein. “Our state’s Controlled Substances Act has not kept up with drug traffickers’ creativity. We must get ahead of the designer drug makers so we can hold them accountable for the misery they create.”
To view the entire press conference, visit www.facebook.com/ncdoj and click on the Facebook live video.
Press conference attendees included Sen. Jim Davis, Sen. Tom McInnis, SBI Director Robert Schurmeier, Jacksonville Police Chief Mike Yaniero, Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed, Cary Assistant Police Chief Tracy Jernigan, Pender County Sheriff Carson Smith, Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck, Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram, Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson, Moore County District Attorney Maureen Krueger and Judge Ola Lewis.
More information about AG Stein and the opioid crisis:
- To read a fact sheet about the Synthetic Opioid Control Act click here.
- To read AG Stein’s column on the opioid crisis click here.
- To read a recent speech AG Stein delivered on this issue click here.
- For more information about AG Stein and the opioid crisis visit www.ncdoj.gov/opioidcrisis
Contact:
Laura Brewer (919) 716-6484
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