Local News

FSU, Department of Public Health spearhead Xylazine, Opioid Crisis research project

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Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Written by Anna White

Cumberland County Department of Public Health and Fayetteville State University are partnering in a research project called Understanding the Role of Xylazine in the Opioid Crisis. According to the project description, xylazine is a non-opioid FDA-approved sedative for animals that is not approved for human use, but is increasingly found in illicit street drugs and may have devastating public health repercussions.
The DPH and FSU were awarded a $200,000 grant to fund the project.
“We want to clarify the role of xylazine in this huge, huge battle we’re fighting right now,” said Shanhong Luo, James B. Hunt Jr. Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Fayetteville State University, who is working as Principal Investigator on the project along with other co-PI’s and several students.
“It's very, very challenging for everybody in healthcare, public health, behavioral health, everyone across the board,” said Greg Berry Project Coordinator with both the Cumberland Fayetteville Opioid Response Team and the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition.
Berry and others began noticing patterns that fit xylazine use while working on harm reduction initiatives several years ago. They were seeing wounds not typical of drug use in persons who use drugs (PWUD) and were also reporting altered experiences such as strange tastes and loss of consciousness.
Berry said they reached out to UNC Street Drug Analysis lab in Chapel Hill to obtain test kits.
Those samples confirmed the presence of xylazine in the illicit opioid supply in Cumberland County. Since then, he and others have been working to educate and raise awareness among PWUDs and medical providers about the presence of xylazine in Cumberland County.
According to Luo, they sent out a small, initial survey last summer that confirmed the need for ongoing research and education.
“I’d say more than 50% of the survey-takers weren’t even aware of xylazine,” Luo explained, “I think the community can benefit from a lot more education about this new phenomenon.”
Berry said the medical community is often unaware of the issue and doesn’t screen for xylazine use, sometimes leading to misdiagnosis of the ulcer-like wounds many PWUDs are developing. He described the wounds as “soft tissue necrosis” adding that they don’t heal on their own and worsen over time — especially with continued use of substances containing xylazine. The wounds also present a high risk for secondary infection.
“We've seen people develop serious infections as a result of these wounds that have led to everything from amputations to death,” he said.
They’ve worked with the Southern Regional Area Health Education Center to provide some ongoing professional development and training for healthcare professions, but concluded, “We have not done enough.”
Berry said he’s concerned about the potential impact of xylazine in addiction treatment.
“This drug does have addiction potential, and so there could be complications that people are experiencing while trying to seek care for opioid use treatment.”
Because many PWUDs are unaware that the substances they are using are adulterated with xylazine, many are unaware that they may be withdrawing from xylazine as well as other substances.
Additionally, it’s unclear whether xylazine may play a role in overdose rates. Berry said that while Cumberland County’s overdose rates have been declining over the last 12 months, they’re still problematic.
“I don't want to take away from the tremendous progress that we've made as a community,” he shared. “Those numbers are coming down in a big way. However, even though they're coming down, we are still trending higher than the state average.”
While some research on xylazine is available, according to Berry it is still considered a novel drug, and the research is limited.
“Most of the information and the data that we have is more anecdotal, and there isn't a lot of empirical data, especially in human subjects.”
The project could begin to shed light on unanswered questions.
Luo explained that the project has two major components: survey studies and drug analysis, both of which could eventually help address treatment disparity. The surveys will primarily target PWUDs and health professionals.
According to information provided by Luo, the project will assess the following topics:
(1) Awareness of xylazine including its prevalence and impact on the local community.
(2) Knowledge of xylazine effects.
(3) PWUDs’ experience with using xylazine and health professionals’ experience with treating xylazine.
Some incentives for participation will be made available and PWUDs will be invited to donate drug samples to test for the presence of xylazine. The samples will be sent to the UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab and the results will be uploaded anonymously for donors to see. Survey responses will also remain anonymous.
Luo expressed that the university is enjoying working together with the local government and finds the partnership mutually beneficial.
“It's a very exciting collaboration.” She added that several graduate students are heavily involved in developing study materials and surveys, “They feel like they are learning a lot, not only just from a research perspective but also from the kind of community engagement perspective as well. So they're just very passionate about this project.”
Berry said that if you suspect you or someone you know has been using a substance that contains Xylazine, the C-FORT Recovery Resource Center located at 707 Executive Place Fayetteville can connect you with testing, harm reduction services, and treatment.
“There's help available,” he shared.
“The hope is that this research will make a real, tangible contribution to the knowledge base that we have right now,” Berry expressed. “This is not just local to our area.”

Cumberland County Schools data impacted in data breach

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Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Written by Casey Morgan-CityView Today

The state’s student information system, PowerSchool, informed the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction on Jan. 7 that hackers accessed teacher and student information.
While Cumberland County Schools switched to a different student information system this school year, the school system was told over the weekend that its legacy data still stored in PowerSchool was affected by the hack.
“The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has committed to providing our school system with detailed information about the breach, including how many specific students and teachers were impacted and what data was compromised,” Lindsay Whitley, Cumberland County Schools associate superintendent of communications and community engagement, told CityView. “At this time, it’s our understanding that the types of information accessed include social security numbers, student ID numbers, email addresses, etc.”
CCS is working with PowerSchool to notify impacted individuals using the contact information already provided to the school system, including via phone, email and U.S. mail. If an individual is worried about missing a district call because they blocked the number, Whitley said they can call the ParentLink Hotline at 855-502-7867 and select “Option 2” to opt back in.
While PowerSchool might reach out, the company’s webpage about the hack states that the company “will never contact you by phone or email to request your personal or account information.”
The page also provides FAQs to answer parents, educators and school systems’ questions about the breach. The company has also published FAQs for staff and parents on PowerSchool Community, the company’s support portal.
“While this breach involved a system no longer used by CCS, we are taking the situation seriously and working closely with NCDPI as they collaborate with PowerSchool,” Whitley said.
While exactly which years of data were compromised has not yet been determined, this school year’s student and teacher information is safe since it’s held in a different system.
CCS was part of the first phase of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s shift away from PowerSchool as the state’s student information system. Starting this school year, the county’s public schools stored demographic details, grades and other information in the North Carolina Student Information System (NCSIS), powered by software company Infinite Campus and not PowerSchool.
However, as was in the case for CCS, data from prior school years still stored in PowerSchool was up for grabs by the hacker, according to WRAL News reporting on the breach.
“It is important to note that neither Cumberland County Schools nor NCDPI could have prevented this incident, as we do not have administrative access to the system’s maintenance tunnel,” CSS’ press release on the hack stated.
According to WRAL News, PowerSchool determined the threat began on Dec. 19. The company realized it was being hacked on Dec. 28, 10 days before it alerted NCDPI about the incident.
The company’s FAQs about the breach on PowerSchool Community states PowerSchool paid a ransom to the hackers to ensure the data accessed was deleted, according to reporting from information security and technology news publication Bleeping Computer.
Even if data was accessed, a PowerSchool spokesperson told CityView that the California-based education cloud-based software company believes the data taken by the hackers was “deleted without any further replication or dissemination.”
In a report to the North Carolina Board of Education on Jan. 8, Vanessa Wrenn, chief information officer for the Department of Public Instruction, said PowerSchool is working with law enforcement to monitor the Internet and the dark web in case any information is published.
Additionally, PowerSchool worked with the Canadian cybersecurity advisory firm Cyber Steward to determine a data breach had occurred and the stolen data was destroyed. It also worked with CrowdStrike, a data protection company the state uses to secure its schools and infrastructure, to conduct a forensic analysis of the hack.
“I can confirm that PowerSchool has taken all appropriate steps to prevent the data involved from further unauthorized misuse and does not anticipate the data being shared or made public,” the PowerSchool spokesperson said.
For those affected, the PowerSchool spokesperson told CityView that the company is “committed to providing affected customers, families, and educators with the resources and support they may need as we work through this together.”
Whitley said more specifics on what protection measures the company will offer to the district’s impacted individuals are coming. The company’s webpage states it will provide more information about credit monitoring and identity protection services as it becomes once available.
“As we learn more from NCDPI, we will continue to take the appropriate next steps,” Whitley said. “We appreciate everyone’s patience as we address this matter.”

Commissioner Adams appointed to law school commission

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Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Written by Staff Report

Commissioner Glenn Adams Appointed to North Carolina Central University Law School Commission
Cumberland County Commissioner Glenn B. Adams, Sr. has been appointed to a prestigious 13-member commission tasked with shaping the future of the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law. The commission, announced by NCCU Chancellor Karrie G. Dixon on Dec. 23, 2024, will set the agenda for the continued development and innovation of the law school, which has a proud legacy of providing access to legal education for North Carolinians.
Adams, as attorney and partner at Adams, Burge, and Boughman PLLC, of Fayetteville, has long been an advocate for education and legal excellence. In addition to his law practice, Adams is a former member of the NCCU Board of Trustees and has a deep understanding of the institution’s goals and values.
"I am honored to join this distinguished group of legal leaders in helping to guide the future of the NCCU School of Law," said Commissioner Adams. "This law school has been a transformative force in the legal community, and I am excited to collaborate to ensure its continued success and growth in providing exceptional legal education."
The commission, which will be chaired by Raymond C. Pierce, former dean of the NCCU School of Law and current president of the Southern Education Foundation, will examine a wide range of areas including American Bar Association requirements, admissions standards, curricula, student success, and bar passage rates. The group is set to begin its work in January 2025, with an initial report expected by May 2025.
Adams’ appointment highlights his commitment to improving the quality of education and legal practice in North Carolina. His role on this important commission further reinforces his dedication to the betterment of our community and the future of legal education in the state.

NC court’s role in shaping future ‘political power’ looms large in Griffin case

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Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Written by Sarah Michels, Carolina Public Press

Before the sun rose on a chilly Tuesday, a group gathered in Raleigh’s Bicentennial Park to read 60,000 names. From 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., various speakers took turns at a podium, aptly facing away from the North Carolina Supreme Court. Members of the political Can’t Win Victory Fund made their way through lists of voters whose ballots are being protested by Republican Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin — the apparent runner-up in his race against Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs for a seat on the state’s highest court.
Griffin is asking courts to remove these voters from final election tallies in an attempt to flip the political race in his favor after two recounts have him behind by just 734 votes. In his protests, he argues that many of these people may be ineligible to vote, either because they improperly registered or because the State Board of Elections allowed them to cast their ballot in contradiction to North Carolina law.
The State Board, Riggs and other detractors argue that retroactively removing residents who cast their ballots would violate their right to vote and democracy itself.
Claudia Mixon, who attended the event with her mother and sister, said the length of the list should help put the extent of the protests in perspective and that Griffin and his fellow Republicans “should accept their loss.”
“It’s a lot of people’s votes that just are not gonna matter,” Mixon said. “It’s against democracy to vote and then have your vote just be thrown out because the other party lost.”
Political power play
Both supporters and critics of Griffin’s protests point to election integrity as their primary motivation to win the legal battle.
But often lost in the details is a more specific, political goal: to secure control of the state Supreme Court by 2030, when the next U.S. Census occurs. After that, the subsequent redistricting process begins.
The court’s Republicans now hold a 5-2 majority, with Riggs and fellow Democratic Justice Anita Earls making up the political party minority. If Griffin successfully throws out votes and flips the race, the GOP would hold an overwhelming 6-1 partisan advantage.
Often, North Carolina is home to redistricting and gerrymandering fights that make their way through the courts. The state Supreme Court may very well be the key decision maker in nearly inevitable redistricting lawsuits.
“We have a path to being able to get fair maps in North Carolina. The path goes directly through the state Supreme Court,” Can’t Win Victory Fund organizer Beth Kendall said. “We need to win this race. We need to win Anita Earl’s race in 2026 and then we need to flip the court back to Democratic control in 2028.”
How we got here
The State Board of Elections messed up. Griffin wants 60,000 voters to pay for it.
Griffin’s primary protest boils down to an issue with North Carolina’s voter registration form that went unchecked for years.
The form did not clarify that registrants must provide either a driver’s license or the last four digits of their social security number to properly register to vote. Registrants who lack both may check a box indicating so, and bring additional identifying documents the first time they cast a ballot.
Before the State Board caught its mistake, 225,000 voters were processed without one of the two requirements. A little more than 60,000 of them cast votes in the 2024 general election.
Griffin wants them out of the count.
He also wants smaller groups of voters removed — 267 who are U.S. citizens but have never lived in North Carolina and 5,509 from overseas who did not attach photo identification to their absentee ballots. Members of those groups have voted under the State Board’s interpretation of North Carolina law for years.
In the months preceding the election, Republicans sued the board over these issues. Those suits were dismissed or postponed until after the 2024 election. Griffin’s protests attempted to revive them.
The State Board of Elections dismissed Griffin’s protests on substantive and procedural grounds.
Griffin appealed that decision directly to the N.C. Supreme Court, asking to stop election certification in his race until a court could rule on the merits.
The court obliged. Pending a federal appellate court decision on whether the case should be heard in state or federal court, the state Supreme Court will decide whether any ballots should be removed from the count.
The latest
Griffin asked the court to focus on overseas voters who did not provide photo identification before addressing the other protests.
If the case ends up at the state Supreme Court, Riggs will recuse herself.
For Griffin to succeed, four of the remaining six justices would have to agree to grant Griffin’s wish to remove voters from the final election tally. In the case of a 3-3 deadlock, the lower decision stands — in this case, the State Board’s dismissal. The State Board would then likely certify the election as it stands, with Riggs winning re-election.
Earls and Republican Justice Richard Dietz dissented to the court’s temporary election certification stay and are likely to oppose Griffin’s motion. It’s unclear how the others may decide.
‘Moral decision’
Terry Mahaffey, an Apex Town Council member, has created an online tool that makes it easier for people to determine whether their vote is being challenged.
Common Cause North Carolina, a left-leaning grassroots organization, has shared that tool with the public, and is advertising on mobile billboards across Raleigh to spread awareness of Griffin’s protests.
Common Cause is also advertising on mobile billboards in other parts of Wake County and will continue to do so until Griffin concedes, campaigns manager Gino Nuzzolillo said. The billboards include a link, and several hundred people have added their names to a petition against Griffin’s protests since the campaign began.
The N.C. Supreme Court has a “moral decision” to make, Nuzzolillo said. Whoever wins this and upcoming Supreme Court races will “get to determine who has legislative majorities for the next decade and beyond.”
“So every single race, every single contest for that court, is about nothing less than who controls the future of political power in the state. And it’s not about Democrats or Republicans. It’s about the people of North Carolina. ... Every aspect of our daily lives can be shaped by this court, one way or another,” he said.

Editor's Note: This article has been edited for space. To read the article in full, visit https://bit.ly/40CO4dc