CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dangerous drugs like fentanyl and carfentanyl are becoming so prevalent in Charlotte, police are having to take special precautions to protect themselves.
As officers grapple with this growing problem, a grieving mother told Channel 9 that every single family needs to be aware of the danger as well.
A dose of almost-pure carfentanyl killed 23-year-old Ellen Petty in January in Florida.
Petty’s mother, Robin Griffith, is heartbroken, but fought back tears to share her story so other families don't have to lose a daughter or son.
"If you think it can't be your child, you're wrong,” Griffith said.
Griffith said her daughter took heroin to release personal pain.
Griffith said she will remember her daughter as an athlete and a young woman filled with empathy.
"She was not someone you had to ask to help others,” Griffith said.
Both carfentanyl and fentanyl are so potent, touching a single grain can cause an overdose.
In a briefing Wednesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police told Channel 9 there have been 62 overdoses this year. But they only have toxicology test results from the first 28 cases, and of those, 12 overdoses were from fentanyl.
"So, you can see that we're pushing some pretty high numbers here,” said Katherine Scheimreif, of CMPD's Crime Scene Unit.
A Channel 9 investigation last week showed CMPD's Crime Scene Unit is getting inundated with overdose calls.
Officers showed us how they are getting trained to handle the dangerous substances hidden in drugs, like heroin.
"It's not made by pharmaceutical companies. It's made by street chemists,” Scheimreif said.
Police aren't sure how to stop the flow.
That isn't stopping Griffith.
Her family started a foundation called the Ellen23Foundation. Their hope is to bring families closer and to lift stigmas to prevent addiction.
"Help them get treatment and help them know that they have allies and they aren't bad people just because they're suffering inside,” Griffith said.
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