LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Police in southern Indiana are sharing a reminder to never take prescription pills that weren't prescribed to you.
March is Poison Prevention Awareness Month. It's aimed at educating and raising awareness about unintentional poisonings as overdose and opioid-related deaths continue to rise in the Hoosier state across all demographics.
According to the Jeffersonville Police Department, an average of 87 people die each day of unintentional poisoning in the U.S.
Police said counterfeit prescription pills are flooding the country, often sold as Oxycodone, Adderall, Xanax or Percocet.
Sometimes, Indiana State Police said, they're actually fentanyl pills or are laced with fentanyl. But they're "impossible to distinguish" from the real pills. Two milligrams of fentanyl, which police said is the equivalent to what fits on a pencil tip, can be fatal.
"The misconception among youth that prescription pills pose less risk than illicit drugs like heroin and methamphetamine compounds this issue," Jeffersonville Police said in a news release on Friday.
Police Chief Kenny Kavanaugh said oftentimes, teens and young adults "obtain these pills through social media, both from dealers and friends," giving them a "false sense of safety many associate with this practice."
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said poison pills are a leading factor in drug-related deaths. In 2021, a record high 2,812 Indiana residents died from drug poisoning. They are among the 106,699 people who died from drug poisoning in 2021 in the U.S.
Nearly three million counterfeit pills were seized by the DEA in 2019. But that number that rose to 50.6 million by 2022, when 64% of overdose deaths involved synthetic opioids, with fentanyl being the most common.
Kavanaugh said the numbers are only from counterfeit pills taken by law enforcement, and the extent of the pills circulating communities "remains unknown."
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- Clark County group holding annual drug facts week to raise awareness in southern Indiana
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