STARKVILLE — Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has delivered 44 emergency overdose boxes containing naloxone and other overdose-response tools to Mississippi State University fraternity and sorority organizations as part of the state’s One Pill Can Kill campaign.
Each participating MSU fraternity and sorority received two boxes, which can be mounted in public areas and are designed to provide quick access to naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, and other tools that could help prevent a fatal overdose.
The distribution is part of Fitch’s One Pill Can Kill public awareness campaign, launched in 2023 to educate Mississippians about the dangers of fentanyl and provide information about recognizing and responding to overdoses.
Fitch said overdose deaths related to fentanyl in Mississippi have dropped 63% since the campaign began.
“By raising public awareness and spreading Narcan and fentanyl test strips across the State, there is no question we are saving lives,” Fitch said. “I am grateful for Mississippi State University’s continued partnership to protect the health and wellbeing of their students.”
The emergency boxes were developed in coordination with Harbor Path, a nonprofit focused on increasing access to naloxone.
Mississippi State Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Dr. John Michael VanHorn said the boxes could provide students with potentially life-saving resources.
“Student safety is our top priority,” VanHorn said. “The Emergency Overdose Boxes provide our students with resources that could make a life-saving difference as we continue to stress the importance of looking out for one another and creating a safe campus community.”
Mississippi State was among the first universities to join the One Pill Can Kill initiative in 2024, according to the attorney general’s office. Other participating schools include the University of Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi, Alcorn State University, Delta State University, William Carey University, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Northwest Mississippi Community College.
The attorney general’s office said it has also distributed more than 30,000 Fentanyl Harm Prevention Kits containing fentanyl test strips, safe pill disposal bags and pill identification cards.
Fitch’s office also established a Fentanyl Strike Force to train and organize law enforcement officers statewide to disrupt fentanyl activity. More than 800 officers have been trained through the program, according to the attorney general’s office.
