Organizations provide resources to prevent and treat overdoses at Duke and UNC

Last March, a UNC student died after taking fentanyl-laced cocaine on Duke University’s campus. A year later, students at both universities continue to spread awareness through organizations that provide resources and educate students if they find themselves in an emergency.

Later that month, Riley Sullivan, Caroline Clodfelter, Kathleen Ready and Callan Baruch founded the Carolina Harm Reduction Union.

The organization spreads awareness by manning a table on Polk Place once a week, alternating between Thursdays and Fridays, where they distribute free naloxone and explain how it should be administered. Naloxone is a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose, including one induced by fentanyl. While naloxone is injectable, it can also be offered as a prepackaged nasal spray, commonly known by the brand name Narcan. 

Additionally, they offer presentations to different clubs and Greek life on campus about Naloxone and its proper usage.

“Since [CHRU was founded], we've grown to become the largest distributor of naloxone to any single college campus,” Sullivan said. “So far for the 2023-24 school year, we’ve distributed about 1,500.”

Similarly, Eddie Scott, a junior at Duke University, founded Duke Overdose Prevention Efforts in the wake of the overdose death on Duke's campus and overdose deaths in his hometown of Austin, Texas.

DOPE has partnered with Duke’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention & Education group to train every fraternity on Duke’s campus on how to use and access Narcan as well as ensure the medication is available at parties they may host. They plan to host trainings in the university's quad to reach students and provide them with over-the-counter Narcan.

"How to recognize an overdose and how to use the Narcan is really what we're trying to spread and make it more aware that overdoses can happen on campus, even with just weed and other drugs that are common in college life," Scott said. 

The UNC Student Health Action Coalition, a student-run organization that aims to provide free health services to those in the surrounding community, launched the Syringe Service Program in 2022 out of its HIV clinic.

The UNC SSP specializes in offering free, safe and legal sterile syringes as well as first aid and safer injection supplies, according to its Instagram. Additionally, they have naloxone kits, fentanyl and xylazine test strips to prevent overdoses and can provide referrals to local health services and UNC SHAC XYZ, which is a part of SHAC that specializes in counseling and STI and STD testing.

Nina Moiseiwitsch, a doctoral candidate in the UNC School of Medicine and the leader of the UNC SSP, said people who use an SSP are more likely to enter and remain in drug treatment to recover and less likely to get blood-borne illnesses, like HIV or hepatitis. Although its main focus is on the community surrounding the University, she said students are still able to use the services that UNC SSP provides.

“Part of what we see as our role is rebuilding that connection, helping to get people back into a medical system that is able to treat their overall health, not just health issues that may arise from drug use,” Moiseiwitsch said.

Within Caudill Laboratories, the UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab uses a gas chromatography machine to analyze drugs sent to them and report the purity or any cantonments found in the substance. People who submit the drugs for testing can do so as a precaution before taking them, or after if they experienced symptoms they might not normally experience when taking the drug, Dr. Glenn Withrow, a family practice doctor and volunteer within the lab, said.  

When sending a sample to the lab, users remain anonymous but are asked to answer a few questions regarding the drug and how they felt if they had already taken it, along with what county they are located in, Withrow said. 

They are then given a card with a number associated with the test tube, which will allow them to see the results online once the testing is complete.

“[The lab] is not here to encourage people to use drugs, but folks are going to do it anyway,” Withrow said. “And if they’re going to do it, at least know what you’re doing.”

In February, Duke Wellness and Duke Housing and Residence Life installed ONEbox opioid/naloxone emergency boxes in every residence hall on Duke’s campus, including two doses of Narcan, step-by-step video instructions and protective gear — a CPR mask, gloves and wipes.

Scott said that each of these boxes are sealed, which are checked weekly to see if they are broken. Every month, people from Duke Wellness will break the seals on the ONEbox to check on the Narcan inside.

According to UNC Student Affairs, Campus Health Pharmacy and the Student Stores Pharmacy have carried Food and Drug Administration-approved nasal Narcan since 2016, and on average, they distribute 80 to 90 Narcan kits a year. In 2023, they dispensed 167 kits.

Student Affairs said in a statement to The Daily Tar Heel that Student Wellness employs various strategies to address the risks of substance use on campus, including education and awareness training, harm mitigation and support for treatment and recovery.

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