Student given Narcan dose
Teen was unresponsive after ingesting pill, but revived by dose of opioid-reversal med
A student who was unresponsive after ingesting a pill at R.L. Turner High School on Friday received a dose of Narcan, officials said.
The 15-year-old girl was found unconscious in a bathroom stall by other students, Carrollton police said in an email.
The student became responsive after receiving the opioid-reversal medication. Medics then took the student to an area hospital, and she is expected to be released later today, according to a message posted on Carrollton-farmers Branch ISD’S parent notification system.
“We want to commend the students and staff at R. L. Turner High School for their quick action in assisting in this incident,” the message reads. KXAS-TV (NBC5) first reported on the incident.
The campus is one of several schools in the district tied to a string of suspected fentanyl overdoses and poisonings.
Fentanyl is a highly potent and addictive synthetic opiate. An amount as small as what fits on the tip of a pencil can be a potentially deadly dose.
It’s often mixed into counterfeit pills that look like other prescription opioids. Sometimes unknowingly to buyers, the drug is often laced into fake Percocet, Oxycontin or Xanax pills, for example.
At least three young CFBISD students died and six others were hospitalized in a series of suspected fentanyl poisonings across the district’s schools in recent months. The incidents involved teens enrolled in Turner, Dewitt Perry Middle and Dan F. Long Middle schools.
Federal investigators traced the tragedies to a single Carrollton house, located just blocks from R.L. Turner. Juvenile dealers as young as 14 would pick up drugs before selling them to their peers, according to court documents.
Luis Eduardo Navarrete and Magaly Mejia Cano were arrested early last month and charged in connection with distributing fentanyl-laced pills linked to a string of overdoses among Carrolltonfarmers Branch ISD students. Another man, Jason Xavier Villanueva, whom authorities described as the “main source of supply” for the fentanyl in the overdose cases, was later arrested. All three have since been indicted on federal charges.
Federal authorities announced Friday another Carrollton man was arrested and faces a charge in connection with selling fentanyl-laced pills on social media. A criminal complaint against Donovan Jude Andrews alleges he capitalized on Navarrete and Mejia Cano’s arrests and enticed teens to buy the pills.
The district recently ramped up awareness meetings on the deadly drug.
District officials have previously told The Dallas Morning News that naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, is available throughout its facilities. CFBISD is also starting random canine searches at its secondary campuses.
School leaders encourage families to speak to their children about the dangers of fentanyl and purchasing pills off the street.
“This is a community challenge. It will take all of us working together to fight the fentanyl epidemic,” the district said in its Monday message. “If you see something, if you hear something, you must say something. Together, we can stop this epidemic.”
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