The Drug Enforcement Agency is working to keep prescription drugs and opioids out of the wrong hands.   On Saturday, Tennesseans could drop off unwanted medications to dozens of sites across the state as part of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.   Doctors say making sure drugs are properly disposed of is important now more than ever.   “When we read about our …

It’s take back time in Tennessee. That’s what health experts and law enforcement are saying about National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this weekend. A major issue that law enforcement in Tennessee is dealing with right now is a record number of counterfeit prescription pills that contain lethal doses of fentanyl. ​“This, in my view, and my 20 plus years …

Illegal drug use in the Tennessee Valley is following a dangerous trend, according to local officials. Drug choice is changing but with that change is coming a higher risk of addiction, and death. Cleveland Police Sergeant Dax McGowan said, “You have upper class, you have middle class, you have lower class that use the drug.” Agencies across the region are …

Tennessee law enforcement warn they’re seeing a surge in fake pain pills laced with the extremely dangerous synthetic opioid fentanyl. In a recent press briefing, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch bluntly asserted “If you’re buying pills on the street in our state, you’re gambling with your life.” Rausch says TBI labs have found that half of the fake oxycodone …

The DEA released a public safety alert on fake pills last month and said Monday 2 out of every 5 pills with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. Drugs laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine are a growing public health problem. The number of counterfeit pills the Drug Enforcement Agency has seized has jumped nearly 430% since 2019. A Mid-South woman who has …

More than one in 10 Americans use illegal drugs. And sometimes, when people think they’re buying one drug, they end up with a deadly alternative: fentanyl. “These pills mimic the color, shape and markings of popular pharmaceutical drugs like Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, Xanax and Adderall, which can fool the user into believing they are from a regulated pharmacy in the United States,” …

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, health officials have noted an alarming rise in drug overdose deaths. One of the most common causes of an overdose is counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. Addiction specialists say if more people carry naloxone it could be the difference between life and death. It’s a life-saving medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids. You …

State law enforcement and health officials warned the public Monday of the rising dangers from counterfeit pills. These pills look identical to prescription drugs such as Xanax and oxycodone. However, they are often laced with dangerous substances such as fentanyl. “One pill can kill,” Dr. Lisa Piercey, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, said in a news conference Monday …

A disturbing number of people have died from an overdose in a short period of time. The situation is so bad, it prompted the Drug Enforcement Agency to issue a public safety alert. The opioid epidemic sadly is nothing new. Thousands have died. But every once in a while, there is a disturbing spike in fatalities – several at once – …

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public safety warning for “fake drugs” that are disguised as common pain medications but instead are full of fentanyl. The alert came Tuesday — the first in six years from the DEA. The goal is to raise awareness of the surge in counterfeit pills that are being “mass-produced by criminal drug networks …