CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police launched a new fentanyl awareness campaign Thursday called, "No Cap, Those Pills are Sus," designed to reduce overdose deaths that have been labeled a crisis in the Charlotte area.
The campaign's name uses slang in an effort to target young people and their families, according to CMPD. The main goal of this campaign is to prevent overdose deaths through education with younger people who are unaware of the risks of fentanyl. CMPD says it has seen a 20% increase in confirmed fentanyl overdoses this year compared to 2022. The majority of those deaths (60%) are people who were younger than 40.
Officers say the message of the campaign is simple: street pills kill.
"Our approach of using popular slang is intentional," a CMPD spokesperson said. "Let's be honest, some are more familiar than others about the dangers of using pills purchased on the street. The message is twofold. Any pill not purchased directly from a pharmacy could be a fake and has the potential to kill you. Fentanyl often hides in plain sight and if you buy a street pill, there is a very high probability that it will contain fentanyl. Second, proper disposal of pills is essential."
CMPD's new campaign will include printed and digital messages coupled with statistics and warnings about fentanyl.
It's a campaign Sheleatha McCollie said she supports. Her 18-year-old son, Jamahrian is one of the 179 people who died of an overdose this year. A drug she said he would not have knowingly taken.
“As a child I would have to crush his Tylenol in his juice so he could take it, saying it was cough medicine… that was still the case at 18,” said McCollie.
In hopes of preventing future tragedies, she wants kids to really take a look at who they’re hanging out with.
“Pay attention to who you call friends. People may love you but their intentions may not always true,” said McCollie.
The campaign already getting strong reactions on Twitter – with one user writing “Trying to go viral for all the wrong reasons. This (all of them in this campaign) should never have made it past concept. Any focus groups with actual teens on this?” and someone responding with hashtag "cringe".
Southeast Regional Director for the D.A.R.E program, Danny Talley said he applauds the agency’s efforts to protect young people
“It's really a proactive stance on the intervention effort,” said Talley. “But it also works in concert with youth prevention and youth education, and then also with the enforcement."
CMPD will also provide a list of drop-off locations for people to safely dispose of drugs. Those drop-off locations include CMPD's headquarters in Uptown, the Matthews Police Department and UNC Charlotte Police Department. Several pharmacies in the Charlotte area will also serve as drug disposal locations.
CMPD busted a large fentanyl lab in September, seizing $120,000 worth of suspected fentanyl pills and three electric pill presses. CMPD and the Union County Sheriff's Office also announced the results of a joint drug sting operation that resulted in the agents seizing thousands of fentanyl-laced pills and arresting two drug trafficking suspects in Monroe.
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