(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Fentanyl-related deaths in Chicago exceeded 1,300 last year, and some of those killed by the synthetic drug likely didn't even know they took it.
Counterfeit pharmaceutical pills laced with fentanyl have no properties of the medicines they are impersonating, whether it’s Adderall, Xanax or Percocet.
Luis Agostini with the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Chicago division says the legit-looking pills are often fentanyl pressed into pill-form by Mexican drug cartels. Some counterfeiters even add pharmaceutical imprints on the pills, which are often sold online or via social media.
“Six out of 10 pills that the DEA seized and analyzed last year contained a deadly amount of fentanyl,” Agostini said.
He said it doesn't take much to kill a person: “Two milligrams of fentanyl is consider a potentially lethal dose.”
Agostini says the only safe medications are those prescribed by your doctor and dispensed by a registered pharmacy.
He encourages everyone, especially parents, to talk about the dangers of taking any other type of pill.
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