Officers, schools start to carry overdose reversal drug after increase in teenage opioid abuse

UNION COUNTY, N.C. — It is a difficult subject parents and schools are having to grapple with -- children caught up in the opioid crisis.

Investigators are waiting for confirmation from a medical examiner, but they said they believe teenager Cody Simpson, found near a Union County high school, died from an overdose.

Deputies told Channel 9 the opioid abuse among teens is a bigger problem than most people believe.

Union County Sheriff's Office Spokesperson Tony Underwood said it is a sad reality, young people abusing painkillers and heroin.

After years of declining numbers, overdose deaths among teenagers ages 15 to 19 began increasing again in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Simpson was not a student at the high school where he was found, but Underwood said Simpson is not the first to overdose on a school campus.

"I know of a situation, maybe two over the last couple of years where there was Narcan used on a patient," Underwood said.

The Sheriff's Office secures Union County Schools with resource officers. Underwood said officers have carried Narcan, the overdose reversal drug, in schools since 2016.

"We hope they don't have to, but they do have it in case it's necessary," Underwood said.

Ricky, a recovering addict, spoke with Channel 9 about the crisis.

Reporter Kristin Leigh asked Ricky if he was surprised the epidemic had reached young people. Ricky said no, he was not surprised.

"I had a friend that was ODing and they hit her with Narcan and it saved her life. But, for a kid to be doing it, it's just getting worse and worse and worse," Ricky said.

School districts in North Carolina and across the United States have started equipping school nurses with the overdose antidote. An official from Union County Schools told Channel 9 the nurses do not keep it in stock.

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