The American Ohio State University has issued a warning about illegal drugs following the death of a student who died from an overdose of a drug containing fentanyl.
On Thursday night, the emergency doctor in Columbus was called to a shared apartment near the campus, where he found three students with symptoms of poisoning.
One of the students died, two others were taken to the hospital.
American media reported that they had previously used an altered form of the drug Adderall, a drug used to treat poor concentration and hyperactivity that is considered a stimulant drug by American students.
According to the health authorities, they are said to have bought the drug, which was illegally laced with the high-dose opioid, on the street or online.
The Ohio State University health facilities had repeatedly registered doctor visits and hospital stays after overdoses in the past few days.
According to estimates by the National Center for Health Research in Washington, up to 30 percent of all Americans use Adderall during college.
As a so-called learning drug, the mixture of different amphetamine salts reduces the need for sleep and increases physical and mental stamina.
Ohio State University vice president Melissa Shivers urged the approximately 65,000 students to only buy prescription drugs from pharmacies.
She also offered to provide the emergency drug naloxone free of charge in the university's health facilities.
The drug reverses the effects of opiates and opioids such as fentanyl.
The white powder, from which pop legend Prince died six years ago, is now responsible for nine out of ten fatal overdoses in the state of Ohio.
American health authorities have been observing for months that consumers of the substance are getting younger and younger.
Drug dealers are said to have discovered children and young people as buyers of fentanyl - often disguised as painkillers or sleeping pills, which are popular as intoxicants in American schoolyards.