Over the weekend, two more people lost their lives, bringing the city's total number of fatal overdoses for the year in line with last year's tally, a sobering milestone reached just nine months into 2026.
City officials are calling on community members to help combat the crisis by sharing information about illegal drug activity. "Even the smallest tip could make a difference and help save lives," officials said.
Police say the challenge is growing as traffickers adapt.
"The longer we try to combat this on the enforcement end, drug dealers and traffickers get more creative and we have to try to keep up," said Sgt. Joshua Nevitt with the Fayetteville Police Department Homicide Unit, a 17-year veteran.
Synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, are driving the surge in deaths.
Nevitt said dealers often mix fentanyl with other drugs, sometimes without users' knowledge.
"What we've also seen in the past is that you take something like fentanyl and you mix it in with oxycodone or you mix it in with heroin. And people think they're buying oxy or heroin and they're actually buying something that's got a lot of fentanyl," he said.
In mid-August, four Fayetteville residents died of suspected fentanyl overdoses. Just weeks later, two more people died and another was hospitalized.
For substance abuse counselor Tina Koskosky, the crisis is deeply personal.
"I like to believe that, you know, if they stay alive long enough, they have a chance of sobriety," said Koskosky, who works at On the Road Again, a local treatment center. "A lot of the substances are being mixed, whether on purpose or on accident. But I've seen an uptick in methamphetamine use."
Koskosky, who has been sober for 28 years after a battle with methamphetamine addiction, now helps others find a path to recovery.
"It started because I thought it was cocaine. And come to find out, it wasn't. And I liked it a lot. And then when I realized that I had a problem, this is before the you could talk about it openly and ask for help," she said.
"We need to be supportive, not of the drug use, but just supportive of the individual, and then let them know that there is help available when they're ready," she said.
Koskosky said the rapid lethality of fentanyl makes every use a gamble. "It makes me angry that that we have this substance out there that that kills so quickly. And it it's you're flipping a coin every time you use," she said.
At On the Road Again, Koskosky and her colleagues offer counseling, anger management, and mental health support to those battling addiction.
"We also do anger management, which is just emotional regulation. So it kind of all intertwines. We have a mental health therapist that also works with us," she said.
According to the North Carolina Division of Public Health, an estimated eight people a day were suspected to have died from drug overdoses statewide in 2025. In 2024, Cumberland County lost 134 people to overdose, roughly one death every two to three days.
Officials warn that fentanyl exposure can happen without a person's knowledge.
Nevitt described the effects: "For this type of drug, normally it's very, very lethargic, slurring of words, unsteady. And there's there will almost appear to be drunk, but without having had anything to drink."
Authorities say the recent deaths are not connected and there is no specific area in the city that has been identified as a hot spot.
As Fayetteville continues to fight the opioid epidemic, officials urge residents to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity in hopes of preventing further tragedy.
Need Support? Connect with a Peer Support Specialist
Peer Support Specialists (PSS) are individuals who have lived experience with mental illness and/or substance use disorder and provide support to others who can benefit from their experiences.
Get Naloxone
Naloxone is a life-saving medication that can reverse an opioid overdose, including heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioid medications, when administered promptly.
Naloxone is provided free of charge at the recovery center. Organizations that are seeking a supply of naloxone for their clients/patients should contact the Cumberland-Fayetteville Opioid Response Team (C-FORT).
For additional naloxone locations, please click here.