Teens and Counterfeit Death Pills
What we know in 2024 about drug overdoses among adolescents.
By Mark S Gold
Published by Psychology Today on September 27, 2024
Key points
• Adolescent mortality from drug overdoses is now the third leading cause of death in children under age 19.
• Teens are most at risk for taking dangerous counterfeit pills made to resemble Xanax, Adderall, or OxyContin.
• The most common barrier to managing teen OUD is a lack of annual screening, identification, and treatment.
• “One Pill Can Kill”
Although I recently reported on the very good news that opioid overdose deaths are markedly down in nearly every state in the United States, we still have more than 100,000 overdose deaths per year. The number of deaths among teens and young adults, especially unsuspecting youth taking adulterated pills, continues to be a major concern. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, appearing on 60 Minutes on September 22, 2024, said the United States was “losing a generation” to fentanyl. She also described DEA’s “One Pill Can Kill” prevention campaign.
