A new threat: fake pills

Meds laced with fentanyl can kill

By Aidan Dusenbury-Dalto | Manor Ink

Sullivan County, NY – Our community has been experiencing a serious opioid crisis for years, but recently a new and even more deadly threat has surfaced, one that is destroying lives across Sullivan County and beyond.

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, has lately appeared as an active ingredient in many counterfeit Xanax, Oxycodone and Percocet pills, and can take a user’s life before they even know they’ve ingested it. Manor Ink recently spoke about the issue with Tom Bosket from Sullivan Allies Leading Together or SALT, a diverse partnership of agencies and community resources committed to improving the quality of life for the residents of Sullivan County.

“Fentanyl has changed the game. Fake ‘fentapills’ are everywhere. You can’t trust any pill you get online, on social media or from a friend,” said Bosket, explaining that “fentapills” have been flooding the market since about 2014.

Bosket went on to explain that the pill fabricators or “pressers” are not pharmacists and do not do their work in quality control labs. “They make their batches in the garage. That means that some percentage of the fentapills they sell are loaded with a deadly dose of fentanyl.”

What percentage? Authorities estimate that there could be around 300-500 million fentapills in circulation at any given time. According to Bosket, even a small fraction of that number is enough to kill thousands of people.

SALT strives to provide help and valuable information not only to those already addicted, but also their families and friends, and to educate community members about alternatives to using drugs. “In a perfect world, we could live stress free,” Bosket explained. “But unfortunately today most teenagers and young adults are experiencing large amounts of stress, and the effects of stress are stressful themselves.” This, he said, creates an endless cycle that teens and young adults aren’t yet ready to handle.

Bosket spoke about how it’s easy to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as illegal drugs. “But if we learn and practice ways to lower our stress levels and focus our energy on what truly matters to us, we can get ahead of the temptation to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms,” he said. “The biggest thing we want is a countywide coalition that is oriented around keeping kids and young adults safe and productive and happy.”

‘Song for Charlie’ offers assistance

Bosket went on to describe one such group that has recently been organized to assist at-risk populations. Called “Song for Charlie,” the organization is a national family-run, nonprofit charity that encourages young people to choose healthy coping strategies over self-medication. The organization empowers students to learn and share knowledge by providing research tools and promoting peer-to-peer learning programs.

A distraught family started the nonprofit awareness campaign after their 22-year-old son, Charlie, died suddenly after taking a single counterfeit pain relief pill for a slight pain in his back. He believed he was ingesting a Percocet, a pain relief pill containing the opioid oxycodone, but it was a fake medication made of fentanyl. He never stood a chance. “Song for Charlie” has become a nationwide resource for information about this issue and a place of hope for people who want to help combat the crisis.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency reports that 40 percent of pain pills confiscated nationally have fentanyl in them. Statistics show that drug deaths in 15 to 24 year olds in America have increased by 52 percent from 2019 to 2020. For 14 to 18 year olds, the death rate grew by 94 percent, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Other ways to address the issue

How can we help? Bosket pointed to the National Park Service’s efforts to eliminate drownings by developing the “Junior Rangers Program” in which youths educate one another about safe boating practices and spread information on other dangers when out on the water. He said there are many governmental agencies and organizations working on the problem of illicit drug use in our area and there are many ways to get involved – one example being to help reach the Hispanic community with information in Spanish as an increasingly large percentage of school children in Sullivan County are of Hispanic heritage.

For more information about SALT, visit saltcares.com. To learn about the county’s efforts to address the issue, access the Sullivan County Drug Task Force resources at sullivanny.com.

Federal assistance on the way?

Even though it has the highest opioid overdose death rate per capita in New York State, Sullivan County still lacks a critical federal drug trafficking designation, a status that would allow the county to access federal funding to address the problem.

In April, however, Sen. Chuck Schumer and members of the Sullivan County Drug Task Force launched a two-pronged plan to combat opioid dependence and deaths in Sullivan and across the Hudson Valley and the Catskills.

Schumer called on the Office of National Drug Control Policy to immediately approve Sullivan County’s request to be designated a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. That designation would unlock key federal funding, resources, and coordination amongst federal, state and local law enforcement and public health agencies to stop major drug traffickers.

The senator also announced his push for a historic $3.2 billion increase in funding for National Drug Control Program agencies in the upcoming federal budget to further support evidence-based prevention, treatment, and addiction recovery services.

“With 20 percent of all deaths last month being opioid-related, the federal government must do its part in defeating the opioid epidemic that has claimed far too many of our loved ones in Sullivan County. While our first responders, public health experts and advocates have worked tirelessly to combat this growing problem, they need more federal support,” said Senator Schumer.

Sullivan County DA Meagan Galligan said, “The opioid epidemic has profoundly affected our community. Working together, our Drug Task Force, led by Sheriff Mike Schiff, Coordinator Wendy Brown, Health and Family Services Commissioner John Liddle and myself, as well as our community partners, is proactively attacking this problem from all angles – from education to diversion to policy recommendations, mother-child health services and more.”

A HIDTA designation would give local law enforcement the ability to purchase key equipment, such as narcotics analyzers and other devices to combat drug trafficking at the ground level.

From schumer.senate.gov