Overdose Deaths Increase as Fentanyl Found in More Illicit Pills

A record 100,000 fatal overdoses in a year-long period through April 2021 have demonstrated how the nation’s illegal drug supply is becoming more toxic and dangerous as a bootleg version of fentanyl being made mainly by Mexican drug cartels is increasingly turning up inside fake pills taken by people who in some cases believe they are consuming less-potent drugs, reports the Wall Street Journal. Other dangerous opioids are also surfacing in the drug supply, researchers say, with fatal overdoses involving the combination of fentanyl with stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamines on the rise.

Federal authorities say they are encountering more pills passing for medications such as oxycodone that contain fentanyl. By late September 2021, they had seized more than 9.5 million fake pills, many containing fentanyl, a haul higher than in the two prior years combined. The mass production of such pills by Mexican cartels has escalated the threat, according to the DEA. Pill-related deaths are particularly common in the western U.S., according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Pills containing fentanyl are often made to look like less-powerful prescription opioids that can be harder to obtain. Fentanyl can also show up in tablets masquerading as other kinds of drugs, like benzodiazepines, a class of sometimes-abused medication used to treat anxiety and other issues.