(NewsNation) — At least eight Virginia students have nonfatally overdosed on opioids, including seven in the last three weeks, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
Four overdoses occurred at Park View High School with Narcan administered in three of those cases, and in two of those cases, school staff administered CPR, according to the sheriff’s office.
“All the overdoses appear to involve fentanyl, which is commonly found in the form of a counterfeit 30 mg oxycodone pill that is blue, circular, and may be stamped ‘M30,'” the sheriff’s office said.
Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence called the situation a “crisis.”
“I am concerned and saddened by this crisis impacting the Park View community. LCPS is taking active steps to support our students, families and staff with fentanyl awareness and education, including training and supplying staff in each of our high schools with Naloxone for emergencies,” Spence said.
He added: “We began to address fentanyl awareness last spring, with a series of six community information sessions and will continue this effort division wide. I think it is important to note that the issue of addiction is truly at play here.”
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said it assigned additional resources to the school to help identify the source and distribution of the opioids and is working with school administrators and school security personnel.
“We know the overwhelming number of Park View students are responsible and care about the safety of their school, and we are putting all available resources into identifying who is responsible for distributing these lethal drugs,” said Sheriff Mike Chapman.
According to the sheriff’s office, 18 juvenile opioid overdoses have been reported in Loudoun County so far this year, including the incident at Park View. In 2022, the sheriff’s office handled a total of 19 reports.
While the investigation is underway at Park View, the sheriff’s office said it doesn’t plan to release the names of victims or suspects.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is easy to disguise and relatively inexpensive to produce and distribute. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, seven out of every 10 pills seized contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.