By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A surging problem, fentanyl pills disguised as prescription medication, has made its way to St. Joseph.
Police Chief Paul Luster says a surge in fentanyl overdoses from these counterfeit pills shows fuels the opioid epidemic
"Last year, this was nationally, there were 115 million pills containing fentanyl were seized by law enforcement," Luster tells host of the KFEQ Hotline Barry Birr. "And if you take that back to 2017, that number was about 50,000."
Luster says these pills are specifically designed to look like prescription drugs but can end up being far more dangerous.
Luster wants to make sure the public is aware of the growing danger.
"Even if you think you're obtaining oxycodone by illicit means, you could be getting fentanyl made in a lab of God knows where, and you don't know what you're getting into with it," Luster explains.
Luster says these counterfeits add to the ongoing opioid epidemic, and that wherever it's coming from, people are finding creative ways to get it into the mainstream.
Luster says unless you get medication from a verified prescriber, there is a chance of danger.
"The counterfeit pills, they're cheap for these organizations to make and they're easy to offload, but it could be this dose that could kill you," Luster says.
Luster said data in 2021 showed that 40% of overdose deaths in the United States involved fentanyl, and many of those were these fentanyl pills.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.