Seven hundred thousand people have died from opioid abuse in the past eighteen years. On average, 130 people die each day from opioid abuse. In NC alone, it's thirty people per week. We now have death rates six times higher than in 1999. Education on the danger of prescription opioids for our residents is the key to decreasing deaths. Most people assume that because the pills are prescribed by a doctor they trust, that they are safe, and this is far from the truth. I support strengthening the STOP ACT. It would reduce the number of pills and how often a doctor can prescribe them to their patients.