Just A Single Counterfeit Pill Can Kill: Understanding The Fentanyl Crisis In The U.S.

Counterfeit pills containing fentanyl have been found in 40 states. Countless families grieve for the loved ones lost to the opioid epidemic. But what is fentanyl? How is it getting into the U.S.? What makes it so deadly? Who does fentanyl threaten the most and how can Americans protect themselves? The Partnership for Safe Medicines has created this infographic to answer many of the questions you may have about fentanyl and its dangers.

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DEA Suspects Deadly Fake Percocet in Georgia Coming from Mexican Cartels

Source: Georgia Bureau of Investigations

Overdoes by Counties in Georgia DEA agents suspect Mexican drug cartels are behind the wave over overdoses and deaths caused by fake Percocet pills made with fentanyl analogues. The DEA is exploring possible ties between the national wave of fake pain pills laced with fentanyl and Mexican crime organizations, reports Georgia news station Alive11. DEA…

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Former FBI Director Discusses the Dangers of Allowing Drug Importation in Radio Interview

Freeh warned that allowing drug importation from Canada was akin to allowing drugs to be imported from anywhere. Quality would be at risk, and the opioid crisis, an epidemic that killed over 33,000 Americans in 2015, would only get worse. He said that allowing drug importation, “…will not only fuel that, but it will also, in my opinion, encourage a lot of criminal groups and organizations that heretofore have not been involved in this trade, but will see huge opportunities to enter the market.”

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President of the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition Warns That Importation Will Open the Door to Drug Counterfeiters

In the midst of a nationwide epidemic of opioid addiction fueled by illicit smuggling of drugs from overseas, and coming on the heels of a year in which U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized over $73 million worth of counterfeit medicines at our nation’s ports, some members of Congress have suggested a novel approach to these growing threats: “opening the floodgates.”

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Deadly Fentanyl-Laced Percocet Killing People in Georgia

Source: Georgia Bureau of Investigations

As reported by WSB-TV2 Atlanta, chemistry experts at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) issued a public safety warning to the state’s citizens. Agents warned that the latest crisis is counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and fentanyl analogues sold to unsuspecting people on the street. GBI spokeswoman Nelly Mile called the situation unprecedented, noting that, “If…

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Fake Pills Manufacturing Equipment Found in Canadian Drug Dealer Bust

Police in Ottawa made a disturbing discovery when conducting a drug bust, CBC Canada is reporting. In addition to finding a typical array of cash, drugs and guns, Ottawa police found a quantity of an “unknown powder” that has yet to be analyzed, and a counterfeit pill press capable of producing 20,000 counterfeit pills an…

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The Drug Counterfeiters Next Door: Fentanyl-laced Oxycodone Pills Distributed from Utah Suburb

A Utah man and five friends are facing federal drug trafficking, drug counterfeiting, mail and wire-fraud charges for allegedly distributing hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription medications laced with fentanyl, a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release reports. The DOJ alleges that Aaron Michael Shamo and his co-conspirators turned his suburban Cottonwood Heights home into…

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