Increased fentanyl in San Diego County

USD repeatedly warns toreros of the dangers of drug use

ABIGAIL CAVIZO / NEWS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

Beginning last semester, USD Student Affairs sent out emails warning about fentanyl increases in the San Diego community. Fentanyl is a highly addictive narcotic used to treat patients with extreme pain. If the drug is taken in high dosages, especially when combined with other substances, it can cause someone to overdose. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there has been an increase of fentanyl in the Southern California area. In San Diego County alone, the CBP found that fentanyl-caused seizures increased by approximately 323% from 2019 to 2022. Although 2022 is not over yet, CBP also predict that these seizures will either match 2021’s numbers or surpass it. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warns that young people are targets for the deadly trend, coined online as “rainbow fentanyl.” Drug cartels are making fentanyl look like colorful candy to spark addiction, appealing to children and young adults. If someone were to get their hands on any drug laced with fentanyl, it would most likely be deadly. Only two milligrams of fentanyl is enough to kill. While USD’s emails from Student Affairs are meant to spread awareness about fentanyl in the San Diego community, the Department of Public Safety does not have all the resources to accurately test how much fentanyl is in the area because it’s hard to detect in other drugs on the street, such as cocaine or marujana. 

Quinton Kawahara, Captain in the Public Safety Department, explained that laboratory testing is needed to tell how much fentanyl is laced within a different drug. 

“Fentanyl, as you know from all the warnings, includes ingredients in other types of opioids, so it’s really unknown if there actually is fentanyl around, but most likely there is,” Kawahara said. “We won’t know unless it’s properly tested, which we don’t have the capability of doing unless, unfortunately, there’s an overdose situation.”

There are devices that measure if there are traces of fentanyl in other pills and powders, but it’s hard to tell how much fentanyl is contained within it. Not knowing how much fentanyl is in something is a leading factor in overdose situations. 

In the emails, Student Affairs affirmed that USD is taking precautions to ensure students’ safety against fentanyl exposure, such as carrying Narcan.

Narcan is a prescribed medical nasal spray used to assist in respiratory issues when someone is unresponsive during a possible overdose. Residential housing also recommends that Public Safety carry Narcan on them at all times as a preemptive measure for student safety in case there is an overdose within on-campus residential areas. Public Safety has not yet used Narcan on campus.

Kawahara stated how each officer carries Narcan as one of the precautions.

“All of our Public Safety officers are trained on the use of Narcan,” Kawahara said. “We’ve all attended our first aid and CPR certifications, and so first aid is a part of the recovery process during an overdose situation, as well as Narcan.”

In 2007, California passed a  “911 Good Samaritan Law,” which states that if someone is in need of medical attention due to opioids or is calling on the behalf of someone else, they are provided some protection from arrest, charge and prosecution. In the USD community, something was not yet created until 2020. 

USD’s similar policy is called the “Responsible Torero Harm Reduction Practice (RTHRP),” located in “The Student Code of Rights and Responsibilities.” It states that USD’s first priority is to care for student health, emphasizing that students should call for help in dire situations. 

“It is determined that the practice applies to a situation by the Office of the Dean of Students, the students involved may not be subject to a violation of the rules of conduct,” the RTHRP reads. “Although this practice does not relieve any student or organization from responsibility for other policy violations that may have occurred prior to seeking medical attention, the effort to seek help for the affected student (or person) may be a mitigating factor in sanctioning.”

USD senior Ebony Orozco appreciates the  2020 policy change at USD. 

“It’s kind of crazy that we didn’t have something that protects students from asking for help until two years ago,” Orozco said. “I remember my first year at USD hearing about similar programs at other colleges, but not here, so I’m glad that’s changed now.”

First-year Koa Cruz is from out of state and did not have previous knowledge of California’s “Good Samaritan” law, nor USD’s somewhat equivalent practice.

“I think it’s really good that USD enforces these rules, because I think if there were to be a serious situation like an overdose, students are more likely to call,” Cruz said. “Fentanyl is a scary, serious thing.”

For students to be as safe as possible, Public Safety advises being careful both on and off campus, and to not take anything unless it’s prescribed. Fentanyl comes in various colors, forms and sizes, the most important precaution a student can take is to be fully aware of what they’re putting in their system. 

For more information, contact the Office of Ethical Development and Restorative Practices at studentconduct@sandiego.edu or visit www.sandiego.edu/conduct.