Bad Pills Containing ‘Meth and Fentanyl’ Being Found In The Area

The Dakota County Sheriff's Office is passing along a Department of Justice and a Drug Enforcement Agency memo that warns of a large increase in counterfeit pills in the US, and more importantly in the area. Sheriff Tim Leslie posted the DOJ/DEA memo and then a graphic that warns against counterfeit pills.

The memo from the DOJ/DEA stated that "More than 9.5 million counterfeit pills were seized so far this year, which is more than the last two years combined. Officials report a dramatic rise in the number of counterfeit pills containing at least two milligrams of fentanyl, which is considered a deadly dose. The number of DEA-seized counterfeit pills with fentanyl has jumped nearly 430 percent since 2019, a staggering increase. DEA laboratory testing further reveals that today, two out of every five pills with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. Additionally, methamphetamine is increasingly being pressed into counterfeit pills."

The pills both real and counterfeit are illegal, but are oftentimes almost impossible to spot the difference, as those differences are often in terms of milligrams of illicit drugs.

The memo goes on to state that the most common counterfeit pills being made and found in the US right now are "oxycodone (Oxycontin®, Percocet®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), and alprazolam (Xanax®); or stimulants like amphetamines (Adderall®). Fake prescription pills are widely accessible and often sold on social media and e-commerce platforms – making them available to anyone with a smartphone, including teens and young adults."

Recently the Mankato area has seen a rise in overdose deaths, 4 that occurred between Sept 5 and the 21st, which has the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force worried.