Salinas Valley Health says two patients are still in critical condition after taking cocaine laced with Fentanyl

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV)- The fight against fentanyl appears to be never-ending.

Salinas Valley Health said two people could have died after using cocaine they had no idea contained traces of fentanyl this past weekend.

"That's really scary, y'know? they're mixing drugs together. as a parent, I'm really worried about that." said Irma Lopez, who lives in Salinas.

Salinas Valley Health said at this point every drug has fentanyl in it and people need to be more alert about what they're consuming.

"People are not getting what they think they're getting," said Salinas Valley Health Physician, Dr. Erica Locke, for the Emergency Department. "And it is incredibly dangerous, it's deadly."

Dr. Locke said the effects of Fentanyl vary.

"People are using is to get high," said Salinas Valley Health Physician, Dr. Erica Locke, for the Emergency Department "Sometimes people are using it just to self-medicate, so, there's people that feel hopeless or in pain.

And for Lopez, she tries to teach her kids about deadly drugs that are no good.

"Let's teach our kids about all these new drugs that are coming out and talk to them about it." said Lopez. "Keep them busy, keep them in school, in sports, and that's what i've been trying to do with my kids."

The teen is still fighting for their life at Stanford and other person is in their 20's is still at the ICU in critical care at Salinas Valley Health hospital.

ORIGINAL STORY

Salinas Valley Health says that over the past two days, two people have been admitted to the ICU after being found unresponsive after unknowingly consuming fentanyl.

A spokesperson with SVH told KION that the two people thought they were consuming cocaine, but unbeknownst to them it was laced with fentanyl. Both patients accidentally overdosed and were found unresponsive.

They have been intubated and are in the ICU. One of the patients had to be transferred to Stanford.

SVH physicians fear there is cocaine on the streets laced with fentanyl.

Montage Health said in August 2022, that fentanyl overdose deaths have increased eight-fold since 2018 to 2021 in the county. A majority of deaths reported were under the age of 30.