The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a PUBLIC SAFETY ALERT to warn the American public of the alarming increase in counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine. These counterfeit pills are easy to purchase, widely available, and often contain deadly doses of fentanyl.
The DEA warns that pills purchased outside a licensed pharmacy are illegal, dangerous, and potentially lethal. This alert does not apply to legitimate pharmaceutical medication prescribed by physicians and dispensed by pharmacists.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 93,000 people died of a drug overdose in the United States in 2020, marking the largest number of drug-related deaths ever recorded in a year. Fentanyl, the synthetic opioid most commonly found in counterfeit pills, is the primary driver of this alarming increase.
DEA agents, in partnership with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, have seized unprecedented amounts of counterfeit pills containing deadly doses of fentanyl. In addition, methamphetamine is being pressed into counterfeit pills as well, posing another significant drug threat to our communities. Drug traffickers are using fake pills to exploit the opioid crisis and prescription drug misuse in the United States, and this region has been severely impacted.
