Counterfeit Pill Problem ‘Getting Worse by the Day’
/By Pat Anson, Editor
Counterfeit painkillers and fake medications made with illicit fentanyl have killed Americans in at least 22 states, according to a new report by the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) a coalition of pharmacy and healthcare organizations. Counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl have now been found from coast to coast in 43 states.
“This updated report shows that the illegally-imported fentanyl problem is getting worse by the day,” said Dr. Marvin Shepherd, chairman of the PSM Board.
Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine. It is prescribed legally for severe pain, but illicit fentanyl has become a scourge on the black market, where it is typically mixed with heroin or cocaine. Rogue manufacturers also press it into counterfeit prescription pills such as Vicodin, Percocet and Xanax.
Unsuspecting buyers – including pain sufferers looking for relief -- often have no idea what they’re getting.
According to a recent CDC report, drug deaths involving fentanyl (19,413) surpassed overdoses linked to prescription opioids (17,087) in 2016.
COUNTERFEIT PERCOCET
“The annual count of overdose deaths from prescription opioids has remained constant since 2011, but deaths from fentanyl poisoning have spiked since then. As fentanyl-laced pills mimicking legitimate medication have flooded the illicit drugs supply, prescription drug users have been poisoned by the counterfeits,” the PSM report found.
“The tally of deaths because of counterfeit pills made with fentanyl is probably undercounted because lab protocols lagged behind this shift and weren’t testing for fentanyl.”
The pills are difficult to trace, as Minnesota prosecutors admitted last week when they announced that no criminal charges would be filed in the accidental overdose death of Prince. The music icon died two years ago after taking counterfeit painkillers that were “an exact imitation” of Vicodin.
“Prince thought he was taking Vicodin and not fentanyl,” said Carver County Attorney Mark Metz, adding that dozens of counterfeit pills were found in Prince’s home, many of them stored in aspirin bottles.
Investigators were unable to determine how or where Prince obtained the fake pills, but they are readily available online for anyone who cares to look. According to one report, there are as many as 35,000 online pharmacies operating worldwide. Many do not require a prescription and are selling counterfeit medications. Their customers include some pain patients who are no longer able to obtain opioids legally from doctors and are looking for other sources.
‘Criminals Are Pretty Smart’
“They’re looking, maybe innocuously, for medicine online. They’re searching for ‘fentanyl online’ or ‘Percocet buy.’ Not because they want to buy medicine on the Internet, but rather they just want to find medicine,” says Libby Baney, Executive Director of the Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies, an industry supported non-profit.
“The criminals are pretty smart. They know that there’s a market out there and they know they can offer these medicines to patients for good reasons, bad reasons or otherwise that are looking for those medicines. And they are going to get duped because they are very likely buying from a website that is selling it illegally.”
The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy recently evaluated 100 websites selling medications and found that almost all were operating illegally and selling drugs without a prescription. Over half (54%) were selling controlled substances and 40% were offering drugs that are frequently counterfeited with fentanyl.
The marketing and selling of counterfeit medicine goes beyond just online pharmacies. Drug dealers are increasingly using Facebook, Twitter and message boards to reach customers. PNN recently received this sales pitch from one dealer:
"We have pharmaceutical drugs for your health illness especially for Chronic Pain, Anxiety, Depression, Panic Disorder. ADHD, Xanax Bars, Narcolepsy pills, Antidepressants, Antipsychotics, Benzodiazepines, Narcotics, Opiates, weight loss/fat burner. We do overnight secure shipping."
Warning unsuspecting buyers about the easy availability of these drugs poses a dilemma for law enforcement and policy makers.
“We have ethical tension around all of this. On the one hand, we certainly don’t want to be educating people that you can buy controlled substances or prescription drugs on the Internet without a prescription, counterfeit or otherwise. That’s just dangerous. But we also don’t want to be in a position of not warning them or not making a policy response to the fact that this currently exists,” Baney told PNN.
It is relatively easy to tell the difference between a legitimate online pharmacy and an illegal one. The URL’s for websites that end with “.Pharmacy” (not .com or .net) are certified by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and are in compliance with laws and practice standards. You can also visit buysaferx.pharmacy to verify whether a website is legitimate.
