Police said two students at Ohio State University died of an apparent drug overdose this week as health officials warned that the fake Adderall pills could contain fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.
Police received a call to 911 at 10:46 p.m. Wednesday from a woman who reported that her roommate and her roommate’s friends had overdosed in an off-campus apartment, Columbus Police Officer Doran Carrier said. Three students were taken to hospitals, he said.
One man died that night and another died Friday, said Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geiter, a spokesman for the Columbus Fire Division. The third student was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, university president Christina M. Johnson said in a statement.
The two deaths are “obvious overdoses” and are now being investigated by the police department’s drug crime bureau, said Deputy Chief of Staff Smith Weir.
Police and firefighters could not provide more information about the students’ identities, the cause of death or possible drugs. The Franklin County Coroner’s Office did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Columbus Public Health issued a report Thursday on the fake Adderall, a prescription drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The agency issues safety alerts for counterfeit drugs, which could stem from its advice line, its public work program to reduce overdoses or its providers of alcohol and drug treatment services, said spokeswoman Kelly Newman.
She could not respond to the link between the signal and the students’ deaths, but said the agency had been told that “there are counterfeit pills in the circulation that could bind to fentanyl”, a synthetic opioid that could be much more powerful than heroin and cheaper to produce and distribute.
More than 90 percent of overdose deaths in central Ohio are related to fentanyl-fueled street drugs, she said.
The deaths of students come amid a growing number of drug overdose deaths in the United States. The death toll reached a record high of more than 100,000 deaths in the 12-month period that ended in April 2021. The majority of deaths were related to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
Dennis Pales, 21, a senior at the university and former president of an on-campus harm reduction group, said he had heard of other students who had overdosed on fentanyl-containing drugs.
The students would tell him about these experiences as he handed out test strips for fentanyl and other consumables. Many overdoses have led to hospital visits, he said, although some people have used naloxone – a drug used to overcome opioid overdoses – if they have had it because they fear the legal consequences of recreational drugs.
The deaths this week came as a shock to many students because they were unaware of the risks of counterfeit pills, he said, adding that it was a particularly heavy loss as adults would graduate on Sunday.
In its first public safety alert in six years, the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration last year warned of an “alarming” increase in counterfeit fentanyl pills. The agency, which seized at least 9.5 million counterfeit pills last year, said two out of five pills seized contained lethal amounts of fentanyl.
Melissa Sheavers, the university’s senior vice president of student life, warned students in a statement Thursday about the fake Adderall pills, “which increase overdose and hospitalizations.” Ms. Johnson linked to an email message across campus on Thursday.
“As the week and weekend of the holiday approaches, from the end of the year and prom parties to the return of warmer weather, we want to urge you to think about safety as you celebrate,” Ms. Shivers said.
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