Fentanyl has flooded the DC region over the years, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that this past year has seized 250% more of those pills than they did the previous year.
And 70% of the pills seized contained lethal amounts of fentanyl.
The part that keeps Special Agent Jarod Forget (pronounced for-jay) up at night is how closely the fake pills resemble real medications.
"Young people in particular think they're taking a legitimate pill, when in fact it's a fake pill," says Forget. "I've been a DEA for over 20 years, I cannot tell the difference between a fake pill that's made to look like a legitimate oxycodone, Percocet, or Xanax."
Forget is the Special Agent in charge of the DEA's Washington Division, which covers DC, Virginia and Maryland.
The Washington Division seized 639,000 fake pills in its jurisdiction during 2023, as well as 189 pounds of fentanyl powder.
Maryland's portion of that was 132,000 pills seized, a 471% increase from 2022.
The message Forget wants Marylanders to remember is that with these kinds of deadly pills, just one pill can kill.
That's also the name of the DEA's awareness campaign.
"Many people don't even realize they're consuming fentanyl," he says.
And Forget has a warning, especially for parents.
"Know what your kids are doing, know who they're talking to, know what they're doing online. These cartels and other criminals are online. They're on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, you name it. They are out there, acting as predators trying to sell these pills to young people to create and drive addiction so they can get more profits."
Kids might be looking for Xanax, Percocet, or Vicodin, and not be able to distinguish a fake pill from a real one. Forget says that even people who work in the DEA labs with these pills can't tell by looking at one if it's real or fake.
"It starts in the house," he says. "Talk to your kids, talk to your family, raise the awareness. And of course, don't take any pill that wasn't given to you directly by your doctor or in the case of a young person given to them.. by a parent or caregiver."
So far in 2024, the DEA nationwide has already seized over 483,000 pills and 244 pounds of fentanyl powder.
