Carroll County confronts fentanyl's deadly toll

CARROLLTON, Ga. - Tariff tensions have once again put fentanyl in focus. 

The Trump administration started the tariff war, in part, to stem the tide of fentanyl coming into the country. 

Communities across our state are fighting the battle on the ground.

By the numbers:

These numbers were unveiled at the third Carroll County Annual Fentanyl Awareness Summit.

According to Carroll County Coroner Keith Hancock, in 2022 there were 32 deaths.

• 2023 29 deaths
• 2024 15 deaths

What they're saying:

Shea Holland says, at first, she did not know her drugs of choice were laced with fentanyl. She says she prayed to be delivered from addiction just before she ended up in the Carroll County Jail for 19 months. A sentence she says she needed. "It's by the grace of God I'm here to be able to educate people about Narcan," says Shea Holland. "I can tell them there are places they can come to get recovery."

Bruce Guthrie lost his son , Cody, to fentanyl poisoning coming up on four years ago. "He got addicted after a football injury," says Guthrie. " It doesn't discriminate, it's closer to you than may realize."

Lt. Chad Taylor with Carrollton Police says it's good to know the number of fentanyl related deaths are going down in the county. " That's a great blessing for us but it's still a number that's unacceptable. We don't want to see any deaths."