The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued an urgent public safety alert on Monday warning Americans about the dramatic increase in fake prescription pills that contain lethal amounts of fentanyl or methamphetamines. 

What You Need To Know

  • The DEA issued an urgent public safety alert on Monday warning Americans about the dramatic increase in fake prescription pills that contain lethal amounts of fentanyl or methamphetamines

  • The counterfeit pills are often designed to look like prescription opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, alprazolam or stimulants like medications for ADHD

  • Two out of every five counterfeit pills with fentanyl the DEA has seized contained a potentially deadly amount of the substance; fentanyl is a synthetic opioid akin to morphine, but can be up to 100 times more potent

  • Monday’s warning was the first issued by the DEA in nearly six years; the last time the agency issued an urgent public health notice was in 2015, when it warned of a sharp increase in overdose deaths due to fentanyl-laced heroin

DEA officers are “seizing deadly fake pills at record rates,” the agency wrote on Monday. So far this year, agents have seized nearly 10 million counterfeit pills — more than the past two years combined. 

The counterfeit pills are often designed to look like prescription opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, alprazolam or stimulants like medications for ADHD. But unlike medications prescribed by a pharmacist, the counterfeit pills are available for purchase on social media and e-commerce sites, making them readily available for children, teens, or those without a legitimate prescription. 

“These counterfeit pills have been seized by DEA in every U.S. state, and in unprecedented quantities,” the agency wrote in part. “Drug traffickers are using fake pills to exploit the opioid crisis and prescription drug misuse in the United States, bringing overdose deaths and violence to American communities.”

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, who was sworn in on June 28, called the issue a "national crisis,” saying social media companies like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat have provided an all-too-easy connection between drug dealers and young adults. 

"Social media companies know that their platforms are being used for this. And they need — they need to understand that Americans are dying ... It's happening every single day," Milgran said in an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” on Monday, adding: “They think they're buying a prescription drug bought in an illegal market. And they're not. They're buying fentanyl or methamphetamine. And the fentanyl pills can kill people.”

Two out of every five counterfeit pills with fentanyl the DEA has seized contained a potentially deadly amount of the substance. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid akin to morphine, but can be up to 100 times more potent. 

The amount of fentanyl-laced pills in the U.S. has grown by more than 430% since 2019, the last year for which data is available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The amount of accidental drug overdose deaths have also increased in recent years. According to the CDC, from 2013 to 2019, the rate of deaths involving non-methadone synthetic opioids — like fentanyl — increased 1,040%.

While amphetamines are becoming increasingly common in counterfeit pills, fentanyl is still the “primary driver of this alarming increase in overdose deaths,” per the DEA.

Monday’s warning was the first issued by the DEA in nearly six years. The last time the agency issued an urgent public health notice was in 2015, when it warned of a sharp increase in overdose deaths due to fentanyl-laced heroin.

The DEA has launched a new campaign to address the recent spike in laced fake pills called “One Pill Can Kill,” which helps individuals differentiate between legitimate or counterfeit pills including Oxycodone (prescribed as OxyContin, Tylox and Percodan), Alprazolam (prescribed as Valium, Xanax, Restoril, Ativan and Klonopin) and Amphetamines (prescribed as Adderall, Concerta, Dexedrine, Focalin, Metadate, Methylin and Ritalin).

But the DEA maintains the safest way to avoid a fentanyl or meth-laced pill is to only consume those prescribed to you by a doctor or medical professional.

“The only safe medications are ones prescribed by a trusted medical professional and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist,” the agency says in part.