DEA: Message to drug users. Why the best drugs money can buy could kill you
SAN ANTONIO — "So even if someone gives you a tablet that looks legitimate same markings as a tablet you have taken before. You don't know what truly is in it, and even celebrities have died from that. That was ultimately what killed Prince,” says James Miller, Houston Forensic Science Center.
June 7 would have been the singer Prince's 63rd birthday. This year marks the fifth anniversary of his death. Prince died from an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl. Last night, the Morrison Bridge in Portland turned its lights purple in honor of his purple highness – Prince.
Prince, like other wealthy celebrities, died of a fentanyl overdose, the singer thought he was taking Vicodin but it was really fentanyl. And he’s not alone. Tom Petty overdosed a week after his last tour. Petty like Prince overdosed mixing a variety of drugs including fentanyl. And Demi Lovato had three strokes after overdosing. Lovato has publicly admitted to taking oxycontin she believes contained fentanyl.
All of these 3 well-known singers had money to buy “good quality” but money has nothing to do with what you get. In fact, you may be getting something you didn’t order as one of the largest forensic labs explains.
“So now we see so many situations where those tablets, had the right markings on them, have the right color of them. But once we do the testing, they come back, The Adderall’s are methamphetamine. The Hydrocodone and the Oxycodone are fentanyl.” Says Miller.
Miller sees first hand – more and more pills that are containing something far more dangerous than what users think they’re getting. That’s why he along with the DEA has one message they want every user to hear numerous times until it gets in their head
“Even if you know the person that you're getting the drugs from right you know the dealer, right. That doesn't mean that he knows what you're getting. Even if you've had really good luck, right you've got good quality stuff you like it. The next round, maybe the last round,” says Miller.
“You do not know what those things are made out of or who’s backyard or who’s bathtub the stuff been made in,” says Dante Sorianello, who is the assistant special agent in charge of the San Antonio District of the DEA. He sees the same dangers
“We see methamphetamine even enthroned into fake prescription pills - there are Adderall pills that are out there they’re not real Adderall their counterfeit they’re made with methamphetamine - ecstasy pills made of amphetamine or methamphetamine,” says Sorianello.
A fix that has a higher risk than most people in their right state of mind would want to take.
“Unfortunately it seems to be culturally here in the United States people want a quick fix for everything,” says Sorianello.
In a recent interview, Demi Lovato warned uses that getting sober has to be done for yourself sooner rather than later. In your neighborhoods, on the streets, Fox San Antonio and the DEA will keep you informed and safe.
