Law enforcement officials are seeing an uptick in the production of dangerous fake pills – counterfeit medication.
These are drugs created by drug dealers to pass as the real thing, often mimicking the look of oxycodone, Xanax and Adderall, to name a few. The pills are stamped to look like their real counterparts, tricking the purchaser into believing they’re buying legit pain medication.
The kicker is that these fake pills have a deadly twist: the addition of fentanyl, of which even the smallest amount can kill.
How small of an amount is deadly? We’re talking an amount equivalent to a few grains of salt. Fentanyl can be added to drugs like cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine to make the user become addicted to them even quicker. Why? So the drug dealer can make more deals – and deals equal money.
Given this information, it’s best to assume that any pill or drug not purchased directly from a pharmacy could contain fentanyl.
Take a close look at the real oxycodone and a fake pill. They’re almost identical:
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