The rise comes after an already deadly year in Oregon and across the nation, where overdose deaths spiked then remained elevated, even as prescriptions for opioids continued to drop. Meanwhile fentanyl-related emergency-room visits have more than doubled. In Clackamas County, for example, emergency calls for opioid-related overdoses more than doubled in the first three months of 2021, compared to the same time last year.
Regional emergency response to opioid overdoses the last week of March were the highest they had been since the region began tracking a few years ago. Even people who have a high tolerance for opioids face an increased risk of death. Just two milligrams of fentanyl - the weight of a mosquito-in a pill could mean death. But fentanyl is also increasingly made illegally and distributed as a street drug and mixed - often unknowingly to the user-with other drugs, such as opioids, methamphetamines, ecstasy and benzodiazepines.įentanyl can make a person stop breathing and counterfeit pills are especially dangerous because the amount of fentanyl varies from pill to pill, even in the same batch. Many already say they assume pills purchased on the street contain fentanyl.įentanyl is prescribed by doctors for pain. Public health workers are also concerned about people who regularly use illicit drugs, but they note many of those individuals are more familiar with the risk of counterfeit pills. Because the laced pills appear so authentic, health officials are especially concerned about people who pop a pill at a party and young people who favor pills over other forms of drugs. However these pills are laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, similar to morphine but up to 100 times more potent. They are often meant to appear like the common pharmaceutical-grade painkiller oxycodone. The tablets are so well-made that even experienced users say they can’t tell the difference between a counterfeit pill and a pill manufactured by a pharmaceutical company. Health officials are concerned about pills, called “Blues” for their common color, or “M30s” for the stamp commonly found on each pill.
“Taking any pill laced with fentanyl can be fatal.” “People should assume that any pill sold on the street contains fentanyl, no matter how authentic it might look, said Regional Health Officer Dr. She also recommends anyone who uses drugs or knows someone who does, to carry multiple doses of the overdose-reversal drug naloxone (name-brand "Narcan").
She urges people who use illicit drugs to take added precautions, and asks medical providers to highlight these risks. Jennifer Vines today is issuing a warning against consuming any pill not obtained from a pharmacy. To address this accelerating trend, Tri-County Health Officer Dr. Counterfeit pills containing fentanyl seized by the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, 2021
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