Since the beginning of August, the Eugene Police Department has responded to an increase in deaths due to fentanyl overdose. According to the City of Eugene website, EPD responded to eight fentanyl overdose related deaths within the span of four days. 
This suggests the possibility that the fentanyl in circulation could be stronger and more dangerous.
The city warns there has been fentanyl found in counterfeit pills as well as powdered drugs. Some of these include Xanax, Adderall, oxycodone, cocaine, methamphetamine or MDMA. The city of Eugene urges users to not take pills that were not acquired from a pharmacy, and assume any illegal drug could contain fentanyl.
ASUO Secretary of Health and Safety Madison Studer said their initiative to make Narcan training available to all students successfully trained more than one hundred students in the past year on how to administer Narcan in the case of an overdose. Narcan is a brand of naloxone, which is an overdose reversal medicine.
“Addressing the issue will save lives,” Studer said. She encourages students to attend trainings and familiarize themselves with these tools and resources.
She said ASUO plans on continuing training sessions for students on how to properly use Narcan and fentanyl testing strips and making these supplies accessible to all students. According to Studer, ASUO handed out roughly 600 doses of Narcan at the street faire in fall 2022
“Specifically, we’ll be using harm reduction strategies like making sure that everyone has access to all these things [Narcan and fentanyl testing strips], and so if there are people using substances, they can do it in the safest way possible,” Studer said.
The Lane County Public Health Overdose Prevention Coordinator, Alexander LaVake, outlines two groups affected by fentanyl: those who are using due to addiction or dependency, and those who unintentionally ingest fentanyl due to contamination in another substance. 
A majority of those at risk for overdose are regular fentanyl users. However, younger people ages 24 and under are the fastest growing group of people experiencing overdose, according to LaVake. 
LaVake attributes this to young peoples’, especially non-users, low tolerance to fentanyl, as well as the possibility of cross contamination with fentanyl in other substances.
According to LaVake, there is not substantial evidence that fentanyl is being purposefully added to powdered drugs like cocaine and MDMA, which are commonly used “recreational” drugs. Instead, fentanyl can easily contaminate other drugs if they are being processed and packaged in the same place as each other.
Concerning pills, LaVake says fentanyl can be pressed to look just like any other pill, and be sold as such to unknowing customers. This can be life threatening to those with no fentanyl tolerance.
“No source is a safe source. Pills all kind of look the same in theory, and because we all tend to trust pills in our society,” LaVake said. “Pills are very acceptable because they’re mostly pharmaceutical, and so we have a trustworthiness of pills. That’s what’s concerning to us.”
In an interview with KEZI, Sergeant Wayne Dorman said there has been a decrease in fentanyl overdose related deaths over the past six months. He attributes this to the amount of Narcan out in the community. “Narcan use has been very prevalent, both from the community, officers responding, paramedics and it’s definitely saved a lot of lives,” Dorman said.
Earlier this year, ASUO lobbied state legislators to pass several opioid harm reduction bills, decriminalizing tools such as Narcan and fentanyl testing strips, making them more accessible. These efforts began with the hopes that ASUO could provide these resources to students.
Sergeant Dorman urges people to call 911 in the case of an overdose, and emphasizes Oregon’s Good Samaritan Law, which protects the caller and the person receiving care from potential criminal charges including possession of illegal substances. “People’s lives are more important than the crimes behind them,” Sergeant Dorman said. 
Lane County’s Fentanyl Aware website features resources regarding fentanyl including more information about Narcan, signs of overdose, safety tips when using substances to lower the risk of an overdose and information about fentanyl testing strips. The website also lists places individuals can pick up Narcan and fentanyl testing strips. 

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Eric Becker @ericbecker__

The University Health Services building is located on 13th Avenue in Eugene, Ore. (Eric Becker/Emerald)