Everyone should know about fentanyl: one pill can kill

A young man recently went with friends on a weekend ski trip. By the time he finished on the slopes, the old football injury to his knee was acting up. He complained to his friend that he was in so much pain he might not be able to power through work the next day. The friend offered him one of his Percocet. Everyone knew not to take other people’s medication, but the young man trusted his friend. He had taken Percocet before and knew it could help. He was hoping to avoid paying for a doctor’s visit.

A Pennsylvania district attorney told this story at the National Overdose Fatality Review Forum in Washington, DC, in January 2023. The young man, the son of the district attorney’s good friend, took that Percocet and died from an overdose. The pill was not a Percocet. The pill was fake and it contained fentanyl. That young man was not an addict. He was not a troublemaker. He was not even trying to get high. He was a professional with a job and friends, and a family who loved him. Fentanyl kills if given a chance, no matter who you are.

Fentanyl is a deadly artificial opioid. While it can help cancer patients with pain, fentanyl is now the most common drug in overdose deaths. It is 50 times stronger than heroin. It is 100 times stronger than morphine. There are cousins of fentanyl that are even stronger. The problem is that people who are mixing drugs for sale on the black market are adding fentanyl when they press fake pills, package heroin, cocaine, meth or other street drugs.

Fentanyl contamination has become so common that most illegal drugs have some level. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) says drug cartels are making fake pills to look like OxyContin^®, Xanax^®, Adderall^®, and other medications. It is impossible to tell by looking at these pills that they are fake. In 2022, the DEA seized more than 50.6 million counterfeit pills that contained with fentanyl. That is twice the amount seized in 2021. Lab tests show that six of every 10 fake pills that have fentanyl contain enough to be deadly. Fentanyl kills by stopping a person’s breathing, and it only takes a tiny amount, like a few grains of salt. Over 70% of the overdose deaths in Kentucky in 2021 were from fentanyl.

Fake pills can come from drug dealers online and through social media. Then they can get passed around or sold to friends. The only safe pills are those prescribed to you by a licensed healthcare provider that you get from a real pharmacy.

You can help keep your friends and family safe from fentanyl. Spread the word. Talk with friends and family about fentanyl and why it is so dangerous.

Help your youth create an exit plan if they ever feel pressured to take a pill or use drugs. An easy exit plan is for them to say, “I can’t. My parents drug test me.” Another exit plan is for them to text you a code word that triggers you to call them and announce it is time to come home.

Carry naloxone. Naloxone is a medicine squirted into the nose to reverse an overdose. Naloxone is safe and easy to use. You do not have to know what drug the person took. You cannot get in trouble for carrying naloxone. You can get free naloxone from the Health Department. Call 606-549-3380 for information.

Do not let the first time you or your child takes a pill from a friend be the last. One pill can kill.

Learn more at https://www.dea.gov/onepill.