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Two Students Hospitalized, One Dead After School Issues Warning About Fake Pills Laced With Fentanyl

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Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
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Ohio State University (OSU) announced Thursday the death of one student and the hospitalization of two others shortly after warning students about about fentanyl-laced faux Adderall pills.

OSU President Kristina Johnson shared the tragic news of the unnamed student’s death in a statement released Thursday. Another student is currently hospitalized in critical condition, while a third was recently released from a local hospital, she wrote. The student’s official cause of death was not released.

Earlier Thursday, the Office of Student Life issued a message to all students on the risks of contaminated drugs, suggesting that students confidentially collect a free Naloxone kit and fentanyl test strips from Student Health Services.

“This morning Columbus Public Health shared an alert about fake Adderall pills, which appear to contain fentanyl, causing an increase in overdoses and hospitalizations,” the message noted. (RELATED: ‘Scum Of The Earth’: Victims Slam Sackler Family And Purdue Pharma)

The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a similar warning to federal, state and local law enforcement partners in April, noting the increase in mass-overdose events involving fentanyl.

“Fentanyl is killing Americans at an unprecedented rate,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram wrote in the statement, “Already this year, numerous mass-overdose events have resulted in dozens of overdoses and deaths. Drug traffickers are driving addiction, and increasing their profits, by mixing fentanyl with other illicit drugs. Tragically, many overdose victims have no idea they are ingesting deadly fentanyl, until it’s too late.”

Many “overdoses” from fentanyl are technically categorized as poisonings, as users are unaware that they are consuming the drug when using other medical or illicit substances. Drug traffickers regularly mix fentanyl with other drugs in an “effort to drive addiction and attract repeat buyers,” the DEA reported.