Fake oxycodone pills killing Oklahomans

At least 10 Oklahomans have died in the last five months from fake oxycodone pills, and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics is warning that more people could be at risk.

Two people in Grady County died this week from overdosing on the pills, which tested positive for the powerful opioid fentanyl, officials said.

“Fentanyl is a powerful and cheap drug that can be 100 to 1,000 times more potent than morphine or heroin,” agency spokesman Mark Woodward said in a news release. “It is often purchased on the black market by drug organizations who use it as a filler in heroin, or press the powder into pills that resemble legitimate U.S. pharmaceuticals.”

Woodward said the fake pills are blue in color and stamped to look like 30 milligram oxycodone, which is also an opioid. Side-byside, it would be hard for anyone to tell the difference, he said.

OBN started investigating the problem in May after two people in Jones overdosed on the fake oxycodone pills. The pills are made in garages and basements by criminals with little knowledge of the drug's potential potency, OBN officials said.

“We are concerned because these pills are continuing to circulate on the streets in communities across Oklahoma and we could see additional overdose victims,” OBN Director Donnie Anderson said.

Anyone with information about the distribution of fake oxycodone pills is urged to call OBN or their local police.