♪ > Welcome to This Week In South Carolina I'm Gavin Jackson.

This week, we're looking at a decline in drug overdose deaths for the first time in ten years with Sara Goldsby.

She's the Director of the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services.

But first, we have a wrap up.

First, on the state's historic Table Rock Complex wildfire that is getting closer to full containment, as well as major moves on tax reforms and other measures before the General Assembly this week.

Let's start in the upstate.

More than 13,850 acres burned in the largest fire in state history over the past two weeks.

However, thanks to concerted firefighting efforts and better weather conditions over the past few days, the Table Rock Complex fires are more than 90 percent contained.

> That was no small feat for sure.

There was over 60 miles of fire perimeter on the Table Rock Complex.

And we were able to get around all of it while we've been here.

So, as you can see on the map here, we're showing black, all around the fire perimeter for both the Table Rock fire as well as the Persimmon fire.

In addition, after shift yesterday, we received, between half to one inch of additional rainfall, which will just further secure the fire area and provide us an extra sense of confidence and security as we close out the incident.

Gavin> The fires first started on March 21st, allegedly due to the incorrect disposal of cigarette butts by three teenagers who have been arrested.

The fire quickly spread, leading the Governor to declare a state of emergency and a burn ban statewide the next day.

Dry conditions and an ample supply of debris on the ground from Hurricane Helene, which hit the upstate area as a tropical storm last September, fueled the fire over the days.

Even leading to its doubling at times, which required multiple aerial assets and firefighting teams to tackle its spread and prevent any destruction of property.

> As the Governor stated just a minute ago, we do have extreme wildfire conditions here in South Carolina.

During the month of March, The Forestry Commission has responded to over 373 wildfires, burning over 18,100 acres within the state.

That's orders of magnitude more than we typically do within a month, even more than we do in some years, as far as the number of acres burned.

Currently, we have three major fires active within the state.

The Table Rock Complex here, which encompasses the Table Rock wildfire and the Persimmon Ridge fire.

Gavin> In Columbia, at the State House, lawmakers took up several bills in the 12th week of the legislative session.

As the sprint to sine die, the last day of session on May 8th is rapidly approaching.

Senators who have led the investigation into the 1.8 billion dollar accounting error on state books introduced a bill to impeach State Treasurer Curtis Loftis, after he failed to correct errors back to 2017, and misled the state into believing that the money was real.

As well as his attacks on the Senate.

Berkeley Republican Senator Larry Grooms introduced the measure Wednesday.

> To remove Treasurer Loftis from his office for willful neglect of his duty.

In order to facilitate this resolution, it will be necessary to pass a sense of the Senate resolution, and I intend to return to the sense of the Senate resolution later today.

A copy of the sense of the Senate resolution is being laid on your desk, even as we speak.

I'd ask that you read over it today.

The highlight the sense of the Senate resolution, we will return in session as a committee of the whole.

Committee of the whole is spelled out in your Jefferson's Manual for certain circumstances of a high nature.

We will assemble as a committee of the whole, the president, the Senate will be the presiding officer.

At which time, Senator Goldfinch and I will present the causes for removal.

Upon that, the Treasurer Loftis, and his counsel, should he have counsel, will have three hours to prevent, to present a defense.

After he presents his defense, Senator Goldfinch and I, will then have 30 minutes for rebuttal, and to have other remarks.

After that, each member of the Senate would be allotted ten minutes to ask questions.

Gavin> This is the most significant development from the fallout of this boondoggle.

As others involved, including Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom and State Auditor George Kennedy, have resigned amid a forensic audit, a security and exchange investigation that remains ongoing and millions of dollars spent to remedy the ongoing problem.

Loftis has admitted to limited involvement but said he will not resign, prompting an unprecedented impeachment trial on April 21st.

> I've listened to two or three interviews you've given.

And in those two or three interviews, you have clearly said in one interview, 170 not, 170 to 190 million dollars in interest was made on this 1.8 billion dollars.

Isn't that true?

<Yes sir> The last interview I heard, you said 250 million dollars had been made in interest on that account.

Isn't that true?

Tr.

Loftis> That's right, because we ran the papers.

Sen. Goldfinch> Okay.

Which is correct, 170 or 250?

> I got it right here.

We ran the information.

The first one I got an estimate, the second one refined it.

And then I said, send it off to the, to another bank and make sure and double check it.

So it's 225 million dollars, oh, here it is right here... Sen. Grooms> To do something, it would be to resign your position as treasurer of the state of South Carolina.

That's what- Tr.

Loftis> It's not going to happen because I'm not going to let you get your fingers on 54 billion dollars.

It's my job.

I swore an oath, I'm gonna protect this money.

And I know what Senate Finance would do with this money.

Gavin> Full impeachment would require a two-thirds vote of the Senate and House following a hearing in which Loftis will be able to defend himself.

Loftis, who has previously run on term limits, said this week, that he will seek a fifth four-year term which if he is impeached, he will be able to do if the voters support him.

The Senate debated long into the night Wednesday before passing a bill to increase energy generation in the state through loosening some regulations and allowing Dominion Energy and state owned utility Santee Cooper to build a 2,200 megawatt gas fired plant in Colleton County.

The so-called Energy Security Act would streamline the regulatory process for utilities seeking to build and operate new power plants would also require regulators to expedite applications for new generation facilities.

Changes made to the bill include the prohibition of state level incentives for more data centers, which have been fueling energy demand, among others.

The bill, which has also passed the House, has been a priority this session, though Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey was one of three who voted against it.

> I think Santee Cooper ought to finance the whole thing by themselves, Right?

I think Santee Cooper should finance the whole project by theirselves for a couple reasons.

Number one, Santee Cooper can borrow money cheaper than Dominion can borrow money.

They're public entity, they can save a lot of money on the borrowing costs.

On the back end, Santee Cooper doesn't get a return but Dominion would.

I think Santee Cooper should pay for the whole thing themselves, and I think they should enter into a power purchase agreement with Dominion, where they would sell half of the power that's generated to Dominion.

Right?

You will save customers hundreds of millions of dollars if you do that.

From the interest savings, and there not being a return on the back end.

You will save hundreds of millions of dollars on a 5 billion dollar project.

And then I think, really on the back end, you also have the opportunity for Santee Cooper to securitize the loan and save even more money.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think in something like this, I think you could actually save over 500 million dollars for customers, right?

That matters.

Now, you still got customers paying for two power plants and only getting one, but you're at least saving some money back there.

Gavin> Over in the house, the chamber passed its anti-DEI bill H.3927, along party lines Wednesday.

The bill defines DEI as any preferences, mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders or requirements implemented by a public entity that constitutes illegal discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

With the exception of federal law requirements, public entities cannot use DEI in hiring or college admissions in preferential treatment, offices or require that someone participate in DEI programing or training.

Richland Democratic Representative Jermaine Johnson was outspoken against the measure.

> Diversity, equity, and inclusion is not bad.

That's what makes this state so beautiful, is the fact that I can come in here, in my dashiki and you all can ask me questions about what I'm wearing, and I can educate you all on where it came from.

I can give you a lesson.

I can say "this is part of my heritage," because I wouldn't do you the same if you came in here with your Native American garb on.

I wouldn't do you the same if you came in here with your Irish kilt on.

I wouldn't do you the same if you came in here with your Italian clothes on.

But for some reason, when I walk in here with a dashiki, as I did a couple of years ago, I was asked, "If I was going to throw spears?"

I wouldn't be looked at when I'm walking down the steps of these grounds, and I'm walking with another member and he likes to drop the N-word.

One of your White Republican members.

But racism is not here.

It doesn't exist.

Gavin> Representative Harriet Holman of Dorchester became the first Black female Republican elected to the House last November, and spoke in favor of the measure while touting her long military career based on merit.

> DEI is not going to be the force of the future that shapes our doctors, lawyers, and our military officers.

We need here in South Carolina... a meritocracy.

We need to reward talent, hard work, and determination.

I am not going to allow anyone to measure my success by DEI.

It is not based on my identity.

It is based on my hard work.

Gavin> And despite a major rollout by Republican leadership last week, a tax reform plan that would lower and flatten income taxes in the state from 6.2 percent to 3.9 percent, has hit turbulence after an economic study of the bill found it would initially raise taxes.

> But with the new bill, we will collapse our current two-tiered tax system and replace it with a single flat tax rate of 3.99 percent.

This is just the first step in our ongoing commitment to lowering the tax burden on our citizens and fostering economic growth.

Gavin> Lawmakers have less than a month left in session with several major issues remaining, including tort reform, school vouchers, the budget and more left to do in the first year of the two year session, which ends May 8th.

Joining me now is Sara Goldsby.

She's the Director of the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services.

Sara, welcome back.

Sara> Thanks, Gavin.

It's great to be here.

> So, Sara, I feel like every time we've talked over the past couple of years, it's always about negative data.

We're talking about drug overdose deaths.

But for the first time in ten years, you have some encouraging data to report going back to 2023, where we've seen fatal drug overdose... overdose deaths drop.

Tell us about what this data is showing you.

> Yeah.

So, seeing the decrease from '22 to '23 is very encouraging after a long trajectory of increases.

The 6 percent decrease tells us that the efforts across the state and local communities and the support from the federal government, all of that coordination, collaboration, is really making an impact and yielding these results.

I think we're even further encouraged to see that the provisional CDC drug overdose data is also telling us that the 2024 overdose deaths, when those are finalized, they will be lower again.

And so we're moving in the right direction.

Gavin> So if it's going to be backed up there, what do you think is attributable to this?

Is it just the policies you have put in place, you've put in place, or some of the ways that you guys have rolled initiatives out in the communities?

Is it federal funding, state funding?

How has it all worked together?

Sara> Yeah, I think it's all of the above.

And I think many states across the nation are seeing these results and saying the same thing, right?

It's been the collaboration, the coordination and the robust effort over the years to really yield these results.

From policy, right?

We've had a lot of policy from our State House that's made naloxone available, decreased the availability of prescription drugs in an overprescribing way.

And then even more recently allowed our law enforcement officers to, really go after the traffickers of the deadly fentanyl that we have on the streets.

I think the widespread evidence based strategies that have been implemented from, you know, prevention efforts and making the public very aware of the dangers of the illicit drug supply, the dangers of misusing prescription drugs, that's come a long way.

And then the intervention efforts and the widespread availability of naloxone and those intervention methods like fentanyl test strips, having those available by community distributors, by our Department of Public Health.

And by the street outreach groups and the recovery organizations that are reaching the population that are using drugs.

All of that access to those intervention methods is making a big dent in the overdose death rates.

Gavin> And this is something that, you know, we saw from Governor Haley back in 2014.

We were talking about how this was this became a prime focus because that's when the prescription drug overdoses were really skyrocketing.

We saw that, you know, with just prescription opioids.

And then that transitioned to so many different things.

So you, y'all have seen the iterations of this over the years, especially now with fentanyl, but, you're seeing decreases.

So, I mean, is it just a matter of having, having systemically chipped away at this to really, get into this position where we're seeing not just a decrease in 2023, but also a potential decrease in 2024?

Sara> Yeah.

That's right.

I mean, I think the, the widespread understanding that we cannot misuse prescription drugs, that the illicit drug supply is deadly, and that there really is no safe substance to be ingesting in that illicit drug supply.

Along with, you know, broader access to addiction treatment, addiction medications, and those medications that treat opioid use disorder, specifically.

The access to that has made a serious impact, in, in people's just understanding that substance use disorder, opioid use disorder, these are chronic diseases that are preventable, can be treated, are sometimes deadly.

But, people are finding recovery from them as well.

And I think getting that message out, that hopeful message that people are recovering can recover, do recover and live a thriving life.

You know, it's all working to address some of the stigma that I think we had previously seen as well.

So I think it's, it's really just a holistic kind of response and widescale effort on the topic.

Gavin> Yeah, it's interesting when we think about this trajectory and we're talking about 2014 even before then, and about that stigma and about just how far we've come.

We had a, you know, we had the Covid pandemic in the middle of all of this when we were expecting to see some maybe plateauing of those rates.

And then, of course, Covid did what it did to so many things and it just kind of amped things up.

So it's interesting to see us finally, I guess, receding from that, that increase that we saw during Covid and now maybe getting to a more attainable place where that is hopefully lower.

Right?

Sara> Right.

I think, you know, we talked during the pandemic and right when everyone was isolating, and probably trying to cope in one way or another, we also saw that's when fentanyl came into the United States.

That was really when we were seeing fentanyl in the drug supply for the first time.

So those two things happening simultaneously made a huge impact.

And I think, you know, having that awareness of fentanyl coming out of isolation and destigmatizing, you know, reaching out for help, getting access to services, all of that is paving the way to just improvement in the overall impact.

Gavin> And speaking of stigma, Sara, we're talking about also when it comes to drug test kits, overdose, preventative overdose kits that you can get available at your county, public health offices.

There was always somewhat of a stigma around that, because it seemed like you all the misconception would be that the state is helping folks do drugs, when in fact you're just making sure that folks are going to do drugs, so you might as well at least test it to see if that's the case.

You're trying to prevent that as much as possible, but you're also trying to prevent death too.

So tell us about what you've been seeing when it comes to getting those kits, whether it's for overdoses, for drug testing, out into the community and maybe what the data is showing you, where maybe you need to focus a little bit more.

Sara> Yeah.

So I mean, we really don't encourage any drug use at all.

No drug use is good.

But people are going to use drugs and we want them to be able to prevent their own death if possible.

And so having the ability to, test a substance, to know if there's fentanyl in it before it is ingested is saving lives.

And that includes testing substances like cocaine and methamphetamine that now have fentanyl in them.

We know that the DEA data is telling us that the illicit pills that have been in the illicit market that look like a prescription pill, they've been deadly, right?

And, we know that in 2023, seven out of ten pills contained a deadly, amount of fentanyl in them.

That's decreasing now, but people are also able to at least test and know whatever substance they're about to ingest, have fentanyl they could be taking their lives in their hands.

Gavin> And when we talk about drug interdiction efforts, we talk about what's happening at the federal level too, when it comes to, you know, declaring fentanyl as a national crisis.

And of course... resulting in different ways to attack that, whether that's, you know, through trade or other avenues.

But what are we seeing when it comes to the local level, the state level, when you work with folks at SLED, maybe, county sheriffs, how they address this and what tools they have and maybe what more they need to address is.

Sara> Yeah, incredible efforts by our public safety folks in South Carolina.

And we talk to our law enforcement partners every day.

They are, lifting mountains.

They're doing everything they can on interdiction to get to the traffickers, to get to the supply, and to prevent that supply from reaching the citizens.

And so it's been amazing what we've seen them do, with their undercover sting operations really getting at, some of these operations where they're manufacturing pills right here in South Carolina that reach our population.

We see impact when they, have an operation go under and they seize those pills and they get those traffickers, an immediate impact in lessening the overdose incidents, you know, right after that in the area.

So, they've been working very hard.

But it's really about that supply and demand factor.

Gavin> And it's constant.

<Yeah> When we talk about, you know, funding all this and tackling these problems, we look at federal funding, y'all receive a good bit of federal funding too.

But that seems to be up in jeopardy right now to the tune of a couple million.

And that's some money that came to y'all through Covid that was set to expire, I think, later this year.

But still, money that people rely on nonetheless.

Tell us about that challenge and how maybe you can work around, these challenges.

Sara> Yeah, so we had some abrupt termination of federal grants.

But, what I really want to say is the, you know, the investment in the publicly funded addiction system nationwide and in our state through the Block Grants that come to us for substance use, really are the foundation of the public prevention, treatment and recovery services that the citizens have access to.

And so we're looking very closely now at our budget, we want to make sure that everything is stable and we can in fact, hopefully enhance just the base of the public addiction system so that folks, especially the folks without insurance, can access treatment regardless of their ability to pay.

> Well especially right now, if you're seeing actual evidence of, you know, declining numbers like this is the last time you want to like give up on, on these efforts too especially now.

> Yeah, I think ongoing investments are going to be needed just to really, sustain, you know, the access and the, care that we have for South Carolinians.

Gavin> But when we look back at that report when we look at the drug overdose deaths from 2023.

There was an increase in 15 out of the 46 counties, some big ones like Charleston and Horry and some small ones like Chester and Jasper.

Overdose deaths, overdose deaths rose by more than 50 percent in Chesterfield and Colleton Counties, Marlboro County showed an increase in deaths by more than 100 percent.

Is there anything specifically driving this?

Is this kind of maybe going back to what you were talking about when you, you know, you hear of these interdiction efforts and when you have drugs in a community versus when you don't have as many in a community.

Sara> Yeah, it really is multifactorial.

And, I want to say that all of the local efforts are just amazing.

Everybody's doing everything that they can.

But each locale is kind of unique.

So we have noticed that some of the, traffickers, the drug traffickers, have set up operations in more rural areas.

And so that access and availability has changed in recent years.

And in addition to that, you know, each, geographic area might have different, practices or preferences.

We know that some rural areas really, have populations that are more using methamphetamine or more using cocaine.

And so as the cocaine and the methamphetamines supply has been, poisoned with fentanyl, we're seeing more overdoses in those areas because people are unsuspecting of the opioid in the methamphetamine or cocaine that they use.

Gavin> And so that's all data that y'all process along with, local and state authorities.

So is it a matter of just targeting and really finding those hotspots?

And is that data that you get from maybe EMS or from your local, public health agencies there?

Sara> Yeah.

Every week we have a call between Department of Public Health, DAODAS, SLED, the Poison Control Center, and other state officials.

We look at the data, we look at hotspots and the different reports from EMS and first responders.

The way things are very different in one county than another county.

But that communication occurs instantly to the locals, whether that's law enforcement, hospitals, treatment centers, to make sure that everybody has the information they need to be uniquely responsive to that, that locale.

Gavin> And Sara, switching gears, there's been increasing concern over hemp derived drinks and consumables.

That's even prompted lawmakers to take action in passing legislation to deal with these items, to get out of the hands of teenagers.

You know, anyone under 21, essentially.

That's still going through the State House right now.

But what can you tell me anecdotally in terms of maybe adverse reactions to or incidents of, or increases, the prevalency of these drinks and consumables maybe having some adverse effects for people in that younger demographic?

Sara> Yeah, we're very worried about those hemp cannabis products and the use among youth and adolescents.

Especially, in recent years, we have in those, overdose meetings, noticed more incidents of first responders response to schools around the state where students have consumed or ingested, cannabis products that, has poisoned them essentially creating an overdose.

And so we do note those more frequently, but overall, we're just more concerned about the access among our youth and adolescents to these products.

The potency of these products being very unpredictable.

And then the effects are just very different, among anyone who ingests them.

So we are having increasing concern about all these products.

Gavin> I mean, I've even heard of reports of hospitalizations with people having binged drink these beverages.

And I mean, knowing it's not like alcohol, where I think you maybe have a better understanding about the adverse effects versus something like this, where it's pretty much the "Wild West."

Sara> It is.

And so there's really very little understanding about what is in these products that are unregulated and available around the state.

We had an incident, multiple incidents last year with one product that really was poisoning many folks and causing hospitalizations of many folks that had ingested them.

So we worked with our Department of Public Health and our community, prevention folks to get to those locations that were selling that product, make sure that they were aware that the FDA had a recall.

They were trying to get these things off the shelf.

But, that was after many hospitalizations.

And then also Sara, on the way out here, your agency is set to be consolidated along with some other ones.

Department of Disabilities and Special Needs Department of Mental Health.

There's a hearing on this bill as to dealing with that.

Tell me about how that can benefit South Carolinians and what you hope to see happen with this.

Sara> Yeah, I'm very hopeful about, the restructuring if the General Assembly passes that bill because I think, it would really enhance our communication and collaboration even further.

You know, the population that is using substances oftentimes has a mental disorder.

A population with mental disorder sometimes has intellectual and developmental disability.

And so if we can, put the state agencies together that treat these populations address these, populations.

I think there can be great benefit to the actual services folks get.

Gavin> And just on the way out.

You mentioned recovery efforts.

What, what resources are available?

I like to, we always mention this when we talk about things that folks can focus on and knowing that there is help available to them.

Sara> Yeah.

So, so many great organizations across the state offering peer services, treatment services, outreach services.

embracerecoverysc.com has lots of information about those organizations across the state and where folks can reach out to find some support and help.

And then the justplainkillers.com website is still up after all these years with, with data and information about opioids specifically, for the public.

And so, we want everybody to know that hope and help is available.

And people are recovering every day.

Gavin> Good to hear that.

That's Sara Goldsby, Director at DAODAS.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Sara> Thanks, Gavin.

Gavin> And that's it for this week.

For South Carolina ETV, I'm Gavin Jackson.

Be well, South Carolina.

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