CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More people are dying from fentanyl in the Charlotte area.
According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, there have been 179 deaths due to fentanyl this year. That's a 20% increase over last year.
Fentanyl is the leading factor in deadly overdoses, the synthetic opioid is 50 times more powerful than heroin. A lethal dose is the size of Lincoln's cheek on a penny.
But it's going to take more than just one department to stop the deaths.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden said they're working to combat the problem.
"It comes in a pill, a tablet, it comes in a powder, it comes in a liquid form," McFadden said.
On Thursday, a man in Iredell County was arrested after having enough fentanyl to kill more than 600 people. And just last week, the Iredell County Sherriff's Office said they intercepted nearly 120 pounds of suspected fentanyl mixed with cocaine, enough of the drug to kill every person in North Carolina more than two times over.
Sheriff McFadden said he hopes people understand the severity of the fentanyl fight.
“Some people say, well it’s not necessary and we need to fight the war on drugs," McFadden said. "Well okay we’ve been fighting the war on drugs but we’re losing lives."
Right now, several groups are working to make change.
For example, CMPD recently kicked off an awareness campaign designed to stand out by using slang-- popular with young people, because it can kill people who don't even know they're taking it.
“It’s a synthetic drug that can be manufactured so it's not something like marijuana where it has to be grown," McFadden said. "It's manufactured and comes in so many forms and that’s why it's so hard to combat."
Meanwhile, MCSO is offering free Narcan from a vending machine in the arrest processing center. The goal is to stop opioid overdoses for those recently released from jail.
“This year I’m proud to say, that my staff saved 30 lives by using Narcan," McFadden said.
He is also working to get Narcan into different businesses around Mecklenburg County.
Officials also want to encourage people to correctly dispose of drugs at medication drop-offs.
Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.