Criminal Drug Networks Are Flooding the U.S. With Deadly Counterfit Pills

 DEA: 

Criminal Drug Networks Are Flooding the U.S. 

With Deadly Counterfeit Pills

The DEA on Monday issued a public safety alert about deadly counterfeit prescription pills.

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Monday issued its first public safety alert in six years, calling attention to an "alarming increase in the lethality and availability of fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine."

The pills are mass-produced by criminal drug networks in labs, then deceptively marketed as legitimate prescription pills, which are killing unsuspected Americans at an unprecedented rate, DEA said.

According to the advisory:

These counterfeit pills have been seized by DEA in every U.S. state in unprecedented quantities. More than 9.5 million counterfeit pills were seized so far this year, which is more than the last two years combined. DEA laboratory testing reveals a dramatic rise in the number of counterfeit pills containing at least two milligrams of fentanyl, which is considered a lethal dose. A deadly dose of fentanyl is small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil.  

Counterfeit pills are illegally manufactured by criminal drug networks and are made to look like real prescription opioid medications such as oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet), hydrocodone (Vicodin), and alprazolam (Xanax); or stimulants like amphetamines (Adderall). Fake prescription pills are widely accessible and often sold on social media and e-commerce platforms -- making them available to anyone with a smartphone, including minors.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said the agency's lab tests show that two out of every five fake pills with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose.

"DEA is focusing resources on taking down the violent drug traffickers causing the greatest harm and posing the greatest threat to the safety and health of Americans. Today, we are alerting the public to this danger so that people have the information they need to protect themselves and their children.”

The vast majority of counterfeit pills brought into the United States are produced in Mexico, and China is supplying chemicals for the manufacturing of fentanyl in Mexico.

DEA notes that its alert does not apply to legitimate pharmaceutical medications prescribed by medical professionals and dispensed by licensed pharmacists.

"The legitimate prescription supply chain is not impacted. Anyone filling a prescription at a licensed pharmacy can be confident that the medications they receive are safe when taken as directed by a medical professional," it said.

In conjunction with the public safety alert issued today, the DEA is launching a "One Pill Can Kill" public awareness campaign to educate the public about the dangers of counterfeit pills.