Florida AG Ashley Moody issues warning about counterfeit pills

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is trying to get the word out about the dangers of counterfeit pills circulating on the black market.

“Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin,” Moody says in a video posted to YouTube. “Just two milligrams of fentanyl is enough to kill a full-grown adult.”

Moody says the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is cracking down on the issue of counterfeit pills and recently seized more than 1.8 million that contained fentanyl. That was part of a two-month sting launched on Aug. 3. Moody says since the start of 2021, more than 9.5 million counterfeit pills have been seized by the DEA.

“We are also seeing a dramatic spike in the number of overdose deaths attributed to fentanyl,” Moody says in the video. She says deaths attributed to fentanyl in Florida increased by 80% last year.

She says a lot of times people are taking fentanyl without even knowing they’re doing so because they don’t realize a lot of pills are laced with the dangerous substance. Moody says she wants Floridians to know they may be risking their lives each time they take a pill that isn’t prescribed from a doctor.

She launched this website to help answer any questions about the issue.

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