Attorney General Jeff Sessions is in Raleigh for a speech on the opioid crisis

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is in Raleigh for a speech on the opioid crisis

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions addresses the California Peace Officers’ Association in Sacramento, Calif. Rich Pedroncelli

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was in Raleigh Tuesday afternoon to speak about the Trump administration's plan to combat the nation's opioid crisis.

Chief Justice Mark Martin and Justice Paul Newby, two Republicans on the state Supreme Court, sat in the first row as Sessions began speaking.

Nationwide and in North Carolina, opioids – prescription and illicit – are the main driver of drug overdose deaths, which now top car accidents as the No. 1 cause of accidental death. In North Carolina, it is estimated that nearly four people die each day from accidental drug overdoses.

The widening epidemic can be traced to the 1990s, when doctors began to treat pain more aggressively.

Opioids are compounds that bind to the brain’s opioid receptors, blocking pain and slowing breathing. The drugs trigger the release of dopamine, and new users typically feel a calm, happy high while under the influence. Regular users develop a tolerance to the drugs, requiring more and more to achieve the same effect.

In February, when speaking to a U.S. attorney's office in Tampa, Fla., Sessions said he thought great strides toward combating the crisis could be made if people took over-the-counter drugs and "roughed it out."