Who Answers?
We know there is an opioid crisis going strong across the country, but what many may not realize is that there is another issue looming. Recent reports indicate that young Americans have found themselves in intensive care units (ICU) after using fake OxyContin pills that have been laced with fentanyl.
How serious is this development? According to one hospital in the United States, incidents of fake OxyContin overdose rose from three in 2017 to 209 overdose cases in 2022. That data is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Of these patients, the majority required hospital treatment, and many of them spent time in the ICU. Sadly, two patients died from the overdose. While this seems to mirror what’s happening with opioids and other drugs across the nation, it also brings a new face to the substance abuse problem.
Now, there is a growing issue with fake M-30 OxyContin pills being spiked with dangerous or deadly levels of fentanyl. According to the report, these pills were first discovered on the illegal drug scene back in 2014. After ten years, the problem doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, in 2022, out of every ten lots of these counterfeit pills seized by law enforcement agencies, six were found to include lethal fentanyl levels.
It appears that some users think they’re purchasing oxycodone pills and have no idea that what they’re buying are counterfeit drugs that contain fentanyl. Others may be searching for a similar high that is achieved from heroin injections, without the needle.
The fake OxyContin crisis seems to affect teens more than other groups. According to the data, overdose deaths for teens have increased across 31 states from 2019 through 2021. Now, the focus is on what can be done to reduce these tragic events. For now, they are concentrating on more teen outreach regarding misusing prescription pills and providing more harm reduction interventions to prevent overdoses from fake OxyContin pills.
