In the past eight months, two local university students and a recent graduate have died of overdoses linked to the use of the same powerful prescription painkiller.
Patrick Stewart accidentally overdosed July 4 after mixing beer with one OxyContin pill. His friends and family say it was his first taste of what the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration calls one of the nation's most abused prescription drugs.
Douglas DeWitt had recently celebrated his 21st birthday with family and San Diego State fraternity brothers. The Johnny Cash-loving junior died Sept. 24 of what authorities concluded was the same narcotic painkiller mixed with alcohol and cocaine.
Daniel Ashkenazy was a high-achieving University of California San Diego junior with dreams of becoming a lawyer when he died Jan. 14, the day he was to fly home to Marin County to see his grandparents, who were visiting from Israel.
Painkiller linked to 3 local deaths | The San Diego Union-Tribune
News and opinion for all the SigEp brotherhood. SigEp's "unofficial" blog.
