Category: Drug Crimes

Drug Dealers and Traffickers Targeted Amidst N.C. Opiate Epidemic

Oct 26
2015

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Categories: Drug Crimes | Drug Trafficking

A Philadelphia man was recently extradited to North Carolina to stand trial for sending heroin through the mail to an NC woman. But the most serious charge he faces isn’t for drug dealing—it’s for second-degree murder.

Sean Michael Harrington is a 25-year-old man from Pennsylvania. In late August he was arrested for his role in the fatal overdose of Elisif Bruun, a 24-year-old addict who was staying at a recovery center at the time of her death.

Bruun’s autopsy found heroin and cocaine in her system. An investigation following Bruun’s death found the [...]

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North Carolina Combats Its Heroin Abuse Epidemic

Aug 31
2015

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Categories: Drug Crimes

Breaking Bad may have brought awareness to our country’s serious problem with crystal meth – especially in certain areas – but now another drug is coming back into vogue: heroin.

According to the CDC, heroin use has skyrocketed across the nation and North Carolina is one of the states hit by the new epidemic. Unlike many past spikes in drug use, rates of addiction are climbing among both males and females, across all income levels, and across many different age demographics.

In the past, rates of addiction and overdose were highest among males [...]

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How Close is North Carolina to Legalizing Marijuana?

Jun 2
2015

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Categories: Drug Crimes | Marijuana

The short answer is: not very. The longer answer is that it depends on what you mean by “legalizing marijuana.”

There’s no denying that the laws surrounding marijuana in our country are changing—and fast.

Today, twenty-three states plus the District of Columbia have laws in place that legalize marijuana in some form. In 2012, voters in Colorado and Washington approved a landmark initiative to legalize the recreational use and sale of marijuana. In Alaska, adults can possess, purchase, and carry up to an ounce of marijuana and six plants. In Oregon, adults will [...]

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North Carolina’s “Good Samaritan” Law on Drug Overdoses

May 5
2015

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Categories: Drug Crimes

It is estimated that more than 1,100 people die from unintentional drug overdose every year in North Carolina alone. Nationwide, overdose deaths have exceeded car accidents as the principal cause of accidental fatalities.

Over the last decade, drug overdoses have also increased because of the rising rates of prescription painkiller abuse. Fatalities caused by prescription painkillers are often avoidable, since it can take hours for an overdose to become fatal. If medical attention is obtained, prescription overdose could be prevented through resuscitation.

Unfortunately, people who witness or experience a drug overdose do not [...]

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North Carolina’s War on Synthetic Drugs

Feb 23
2015

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Categories: Drug Crimes

Though synthetic drugs were banned in North Carolina in 2011, many gas stations and convenience stores continue to sell them under the guise of potpourri, herbal incense, bath salts, and jewelry cleaners, giving these dangerous products a false appearance of safety and legitimacy. Young drug abusers purchase these products and use them to get high—a practice that is both dangerous and illegal.

As attorney general Roy Cooper explained in a statement disclosed in a report by WRAL, “Despite laws against them, these potentially harmful dru­­­gs are all too easy to get, especially for [...]

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