Counterfeit fentanyl pills are being seized by US law enforcement at an unprecedented rate. A study published May 13, 2024, in the International Journal of Drug Policy indicated that more than 115 million pills containing illicit fentanyl were seized by US law enforcement in 2023.
The researchers behind the study said the number had grown from 71 million pills in 2022 and 50,000 pills in 2017.
The counterfeit fentanyl pills are made to look like legal prescription opioid medication — such as oxycodone and tramadol — but are often far deadlier than the originals.
"Fentanyl in pill form is now beginning to dominate the drug supply [in the US]. Pills are easy to ship and disguise and can also be marketed easily, as Americans have a reputation of loving their pills," said the study's lead author Joseph Palamar of NYU Langone Health in the US.
Public health officials have warned that a growing illicit fentanyl supply into North America is the main factor in the country's ongoing opioid crisis.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times stronger than........