Friends and family of senior Angela Marsh are concerned she will be remembered negatively after an autopsy report concluded a combination of drugs caused her death.
The 21-year-old biology major was found dead in her home Sept. 9. The preliminary cause of death was reported to be heart failure.
The autopsy found that Marsh died of complications from pain medications oxycodone, methadone and fentanyl and the drug meth, said Lt. Dennis Cooley of the Butte County Coroner's Office.
The amount of each drug was small, but combining the four caused Marsh's death, he said.
Pain medications depress the central nervous system, and meth is a stimulant. The opposing effects can be fatal.
"It's unfortunate that this is how she'll be remembered," said Amber Millan, Marsh's roommate of more than one year. "It really hurts that this is how she will be portrayed."
Marsh was an "amazing" friend who was always willing to help others, she said. The cause of her death has made it difficult to remind others of the life she lived.
"If you were lucky, you were a friend to Angela," her family and friends wrote in a tribute. "You knew that she was witty, full of life and loved to have fun."
Marsh made some "bad friends" who pushed her into drugs and continued to supply her with them, Millan said.
"(They were) people who partied in a way that ruined plans and destroyed dreams," her friends and family wrote in the tribute.
Marsh used the drug for a few months and was struggling to stop, so the women moved in together to help Marsh stop her addiction, Millan said.
Students abusing prescription medications has always been a problem, said Dylan Smith, a peer educator for the Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center. There has been an increase in popularity and use throughout the past couple of years, he said.
Marsh used the drug on Sept. 7 and felt sick, Millan said.
"She was hurting and said she didn't want to use it again," she said. "She could barely breathe and walk on Saturday."
Marsh did not see a doctor despite encouragement from friends.
"She thought she was just really hungover because she drank a lot the night before," Millan said.
Stacey Kennelly can be reached at skennelly@theorion.com
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