Fake Oxycodone Fentanyl Pills Responsible for over 100,000 Deaths

As if the opioid crisis wasn’t difficult enough, things have gotten much worse thanks to “fake” oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl.

Recently, there has been a surge in counterfeit oxycodone pills mixed with fentanyl. These fake pills are mass-produced by criminal drug networks in labs, deceptively marketed as legitimate prescription pills. Most alarming is the fact that the DEA just recently confirmed the over 100,000 deaths directly related to the pills. Most shocking is the fact that these 100,000 deaths all occurred in only a one year period.

An estimated 100,306 people died as the result of a drug overdose in the United States from April 2020 through April 2021 and more than 75 percent of those deaths involved an opioid. This is an increase of nearly 28.5 percent year over year.

Counterfeit Oxycodone Pills are Now Everywhere

Historically, the opioid epidemic began with a rapid increase in the prescribing of opioids starting in the 1990s. It continued when those addicted to opioids began to use heroin because it was cheaper and more readily available. Now, the most recent part of this epidemic is the increase in availability of counterfeit pills. Counterfeit pills are illicitly manufactured in clandestine labs, mostly using fentanyl as the active ingredient, and are made to look like legitimate prescription opioids commonly prescribed to alleviate pain or anxiety.

These counterfeit pills are then illegally sold by street drug dealers as Oxycodone, Xanax, Percocet, or other similar drugs. Counterfeit pills are also being sold over the internet and delivered by mail. It is important to note that there is no concern of counterfeit pills entering the legitimate prescription supply chain.

Prescription opioid abuse has already taken a toll on thousands of communities across the United States community, but now the rise in counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl is making matters even worse.

Why is Fentanyl Used in Fake Oxycodone Pills?

Fentanyl has become the “mixer’ of choice for these underground labs, probably as a result of the success heroin dealers have had with it for many years now. Today’s heroin, which is illegal and always purchased on the street, has been laced with fentanyl for many, many years, making it the most obvious “cutting and strengthening” choice for making oxycodone pills. Fentanyl is both cheap and extremely powerful.

How Strong is Fentanyl?

Heroin users have been playing a game of Russian roulette for some time now, and oxycodone users are now taking the same gamble. Fentanyl provides unbelievably high horsepower as a cutting agent in already powerful opioids such as heroin. It’s so strong, there’s nothing to compare it to without a ridiculous multiplier.

For example: A lethal dosage of fentanyl is just two milligrams. Compare this in dimensions to salt, and we’re looking at only 2-3 grains. That means that a deadly dose of fentanyl is small enough to fit on the very tip of a pencil.

Compare that to a lethal dose of heroin at 30 milligrams. This is exactly the reason so many communities are dealing with fatalities from drug overdose, which is almost always related to “street” or “underground lab” drugs.

Even the Most Experienced Drug Users Aren’t Prepared for Fentanyl’s Strength

Imagine you’re a veteran drug user who has been maintaining a habit of 2-3 milligrams of heroin per day, which is a fairly common habit. Without your knowledge, your dealer has decided to increase profits by diluting the heroin, but also multiplying its strength by “cutting” it with fentanyl powder.

The result is often a deadly one, especially when looking at the difference in strengths. The newly-laced heroin with fentanyl can literally be 25 to 100 times stronger than it was when it was “uncut”. The very same is happening with oxycodone pills – People who are used to taking 50 to 200 milligrams of pure oxycodone per day are now taking a gamble on newly-laced oxycodone pills that are 25 to 100 times stronger, often without their knowledge.

Counterfeit pills are incredibly dangerous because these imitation pills often look exactly like prescription Oxycodone in size, shape, color, and markings. In other words, there is no way to tell whether a pill purchased illicitly on the internet or the street is actually Oxycodone, or perhaps a drug that is many times stronger.

Avoid Counterfeit Drugs at All Cost

Knowledge is power. Please make it a point to share this knowledge with anyone you know who may be getting fake oxycodone pills with fentanyl. Doing so might just save a life. People should only take drugs prescribed to them, obtained from an authorized medical provider or pharmacy. Never should anyone take or even handle fake pills for risk of accidental overdose.

Remember: The synthetic opioids (ie: fentanyl) contained in illicitly-manufactured drugs are often lethal, even if consumed in the smallest of amounts.

The images below show actual pharmaceutically-manufactured oxycodone pills on the left, and underground lab-created oxycodone pills on the right. These fake pills can be totally deceiving in appearance and strength compared to pharmaceutical-grade oxycodone pills.

How Many of These Fake Oxycodone Pills are We Talking About?

In just this one year, more than 9,500,000 counterfeit oxycodone pills were seized, which is double the amount of the two years previous. There is a serious effort right now of underground labs creating and distributing these potentially fatal pills.

More shocking is the fact regarding the rise of fake pills that contained at least two milligrams of fentanyl, which again is considered a lethal dose.

Naloxone (one of two drugs used in Suboxone) is being used currently by first-responders, which is helping prevent fatal overdoses from state to state.

Medication-Assisted Therapy with Suboxone Helping Save Lives

Suboxone has been a savior in the addiction world. Used as part of Medication Assisted Therapy along with therapy and other modalities, “MAT” is helping people transition from powerful opioids like oxycodone, OxyContin and Fentanyl to a much safer, more stable and predictable solution. A partial agonist, Suboxone allows the brian to begin replenishing the many chemicals that get depleted from opioid abuse, while also preventing withdrawals and curbing cravings.

Don’t Gamble Your Life with Illicit Drugs

The scary part about all of the underground drugs laced with fentanyl is that users won’t know when they’re about to take a fatal dose. Using these underground-manufactured street drugs is truly a life and death gamble. These underground labs aren’t regulated, and most of these labs would surely lack the technical means of manufacturing a consistent product with standardized dosages. Ie: One pill could have 2 milligrams of fentanyl, while the one next to it may have 5.

Addicted to Opioids? Grab Hold of the Solution – NOW

Medication-assisted therapy provides the means of safely transitioning away from dangerous street drugs to the much safer (and predictable) Suboxone. You can end the daily drug abuse, chasing drugs, wasting money, etc. while virtually eliminating painful withdrawals and cravings.