San Andreas, CA…In October of 2021, the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office investigated the death of a young adult resident of Calaveras County. Medics and law enforcement responded to a Calaveras County residence after receiving a call for service reporting a young male adult had lost consciousness and was not breathing after consuming a pill resembling a legitimate pain medication. Deputies were the first responders to arrive at the residence, and despite administering Narcan and CPR, the male was unable to be revived. Narcan (aka: Naloxone) is a medication used for the treatment of suspected opioid overdose emergencies.

Sheriff’s Detectives located, and seized a pill from the residence, which was reported to be from the same source as the pill consumed by the deceased male. It was discovered the pill was a counterfeit pain medication, which tested presumptively positive for containing fentanyl.

Often disguised as other legitimate drugs, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid which is significantly more powerful than morphine and primarily sold through the illegal market. As little as two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal to a human. Fentanyl can be produced, or inserted into virtually any composition, and is commonly created to resemble counterfeit prescription opioids.

The public is urged to use caution and not consume any medications unless they are prescribed by a trusted medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist, which is the only way to completely ensure medications are not counterfeit. For more information on counterfeit pills, visit https://www.dea.gov/onepill and

https://www.dea.gov/resources/facts-about-fentanyl.
For more information contact Lieutenant Greg Stark at 209-754-6500.