CSUMB issues warning of Percocet pills following student overdose

California State Monterey Bay police is warning students of counterfeit pills that could be laced with fentanyl.

Saturday, university police responded to a student on campus who looked to be having an overdose. Officers administered two doses of naloxone (NARCAN) to the student, reversing the side effects of the overdose. The student survived.

“18 months ago our police department started carrying NARCAN in their vehicles, and that was just a way for us to be proactive with an uptick nationally,” Rappahahn said.

According to police, the student said they took one Percocet pill. Based on the overdose and information received from local agencies, it’s believed the Percocet pill was counterfeit and contained fentanyl.

“These may be around, and people should be careful with any prescription medication,” CSUMB public information officer Noah Rappahahn said.

This is the first time campus police have had to use NARCAN. Although its not required, neighboring UC Santa Cruz also added NARCAN for their officers earlier this year.

Students we spoke with tell us the use of drugs like molly and Percocet isn’t very common on campus

“It’s a pretty quiet campus I think the most people are doing here is weed and stuff like that,” CSUMB student Isaac Hertzl said.

“I guess I don’t really hang around with people that do that stuff,” CSUMB student Mario Rodriguez said.

CSUMB shared the news of the overdose with their students right away to spread awareness.

“Our warning is if people have pills that were not prescribed from their physician or did not come from a pharmacy they should be skeptical about them,” Rappahahn said. “We’re asking people if they have pills that resemble these Percocet pills to turn them into our health center or our police department.”

In the last month or so, other nearby law enforcement have seized counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl as their main ingredient.

Santa Clara County says those pills are circular, are light blue to light green and have an “m” inside of a square etched on the pill with a 30 on the other side.

CSUMB says you can even turn these pills in anonymously to the health center if you’d prefer.