Whiteville Woman, 20, Charged After Baby Ingests Opioid Addiction Drug

A 20-year-old Whiteville woman is facing a felony charge after a year-old baby ingested a powerful opioid addiction medication inside her home, prompting an emergency hospital transport last Thursday. Andrea Jane Millender, who lives at 41 Oleander Drive, was placed under a $50,000 secured bond after a Columbus County Sheriff’s deputy responded to her home and found the infant had ingested Subutex, a prescription drug used to treat opioid addiction.

According to Columbus County News, which first reported the arrest, warrants show Millender allegedly allowed the baby to ingest the drug. She faces a single charge of exposing a child to a controlled substance resulting in ingestion, and the infant was transported to the hospital after ingesting the narcotics. The outlet, whose editor and publisher Jefferson Weaver bylined the report, said it had contacted the sheriff’s office for further information.

The charge stems from a relatively new section of North Carolina law. Under General Statute § 14-318.7, enacted through Senate Bill 429 and effective this past December, knowingly or recklessly causing or permitting a child under 16 to be exposed to a controlled substance resulting in ingestion is a Class E felony, according to the UNC School of Government. The statute actually created a five-tier felony structure, ranging from a Class H felony for simple exposure up to a Class B1 felony if a child dies as a result, per the Wake Forest Law Review.

Why Subutex Poses Such a Danger to Infants

Subutex contains only buprenorphine, a synthetic opioid partial agonist. Unlike combination formulations such as Suboxone, it lacks the opioid antagonist naloxone that is added specifically to discourage misuse and diversion, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Medical research cited by the organization indicates buprenorphine is 25 to 50 times more potent than morphine, and for infants under two years old, ingesting even more than a lick or taste can trigger severe, delayed central nervous system and respiratory depression lasting more than 24 hours.

The danger is not isolated to this case. A nationwide study of poison control data from 2007 to 2016 found that children under six accounted for 86.1 percent of all pediatric buprenorphine exposures nationally, with 45 percent of those cases requiring hospital admission and 21 percent resulting in serious medical outcomes, per AAP Publications.

A County Already Grappling With Overdose Rates

Columbus County recorded a drug and medicine overdose rate of 73.46 per 100,000 residents in 2023, nearly double North Carolina’s statewide average of 38.3 per 100,000, according to the Public School Forum of North Carolina. Statewide, more than 55,000 North Carolina children live with a parent or caregiver who has a substance use disorder, according to the Wake Forest Law Review analysis.

The Columbus County Sheriff’s Office, led by Sheriff W. A. “Bill” Rogers since January 2023, responded to the dispatch on Oleander Drive. It remains unclear whether the Subutex belonged to Millender or another member of the household, and the infant’s current medical condition has not been publicly disclosed. It is also unknown whether Columbus County Department of Social Services proceedings or additional charges will follow as the case moves through district court.

Part of a Broader Pattern in Columbus County

Millender’s arrest adds to a string of child-safety cases handled by Columbus County law enforcement this month. Hoodline recently reported that a Whiteville couple faces felony charges in a separate child sex abuse case, while a father in nearby Riegelwood was arrested and held without bond after his 7-year-old son was left bruised for days. Another Columbus County case this month involved a woman charged with DWI and felony child abuse after a 70 mph crash injured a child passenger.

It was not immediately clear whether Millender has retained an attorney or entered a plea. Columbus County News said it had reached out to the sheriff’s office for additional details on the investigation.