Over the years, there has been concern about teens using prescription drugs without a doctor’s recommendation or script. A recent study commissioned by Song for Charlie, the national family-run non-profit dedicated to raising awareness about fake pills made from fentanyl, reveals how deadly a lack of knowledge can be to a user.
Recent US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Laboratory data found that of the fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills analyzed in 2022, 6 out 10 now contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.
Song of Charlie reports about one in 10 teens and one in 5 young adults have used prescription drugs off-script. New data reveal as the rate of drug deaths deriving from accidental poisoning among young Americans (13-24) doubled in the first year of the CO-VID 19 pandemic and continued to increase by 20% to 7,500 in 2021. The look-alike prescription pills are sold deceptively to young people. Eighty percent of the 7,500 deaths in 2021 involved fentanyl, up from 57% in 2018. This makes young Americans the fastest demographic dying from these fake pills.
Fentanyl, usually made in powder or pill form, is a strong synthetic opioid. It is made and used pharmaceutically. According to the DEA, most counterfeit pills are produced in other countries, mainly China, Mexico, and India. However, many pills laced with fentanyl are now being produced in the U.S. The pills created have little pharmaceutical substance. They are formed from fentanyl powder and a bonding agent. Just the amount that can be placed on the tip of a pencil can be deadly.
A warning from DEA administrator Anne Miligram came out in an alert.
“More than half of the fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills being trafficked in communities across the country now contain a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl. This marks a dramatic increase — from four out of 10 to six out of 10 — in the number of pills that can kill,” said Administrator Anne Milgram in the alert. “These pills are being mass-produced by the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel in Mexico. Never take a pill that was not prescribed directly to you. Never take a pill from a friend. Never take a pill bought on social media. Just one pill is dangerous, and one pill can kill.”
Federal Drug Administration
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