After seeing an increased number of drug overdose deaths that could be linked to counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a warning.
Fentanyl is a powerful substance, 100 times stronger than morphine, meaning that one pill often is enough to kill someone. As little as 2 milligrams of fentanyl could cause a deadly overdose.
Buying counterfeit pills online or through social media poses a serious safety hazard as they may contain too little, too much, no active ingredient at all, or contain other potentially dangerous hidden ingredients such as fentanyl. The DEA is worried that this will affect young people who may find pills especially appealing.
They think they’re purchasing Oxycontin or Xanax, and have no idea that they’re getting deadly fentanyl. They have no idea that one pill could kill them. Educating our students and families about this danger has become one of our highest priorities.
Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge at the DEA
Last week the Washington Post published an article regarding the deaths of two young women who both passed away from a fentanyl overdose. The women, who both lived in Southeast D.C., didn’t know each other but were buried just days apart and their mothers are now speaking out against the dangerous opioid epidemic.
Please do your research on this epidemic. Fentanyl is in everything, and it’s not a game.
Schyla Pondexter-Moore, mother of Cairo, one of the deceased young women