Within the last few months, one drug seizure in Worcester County involved 70,000 fake Adderall pills that were actually fentanyl, the potent synthetic opioid responsible for the deadliest drug crisis the U.S. has ever seen.
Young people may believe they’re reaching for a safely manufactured prescription drug to help them stay up later or feel more productive, but it could ultimately kill them, said Sheriff Lew Evangelidis.
And it could take just one time.
“This is the issue of our times,” Evangelidis said this week. “This is the sad reality.”
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration came to Worcester on Thursday with its “one pill can kill” message, delivered during an esports tournament hosted at All Systems Go gaming center. In 2023, Worcester had the highest rate of deaths caused by opioid overdoses in the state.
It was the third esports event the DEA has hosted nationally as the federal agency turns to video gaming as a means of delivering critical messaging about the dangers of counterfeit pills, considering an estimated 97% of American youth between the ages of 12 and 17 engage in the activity.
The popularity of esports, which are highly organized video games played in a competitive environment, has skyrocketed. Not only do young people enjoy playing them, but many watch others playing esports as spectators, making the games a social event.
On Thursday, eight college esports teams dueled in a Rocket League battle, “a hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem,” while commentators and educational resources displayed virtually over the course of the tournament shed light on counterfeit fentanyl pills.
Nationally, 22 teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 die every week from a drug poisoning or overdose death, according to a January study by the New England Journal of Medicine.
- Related news: 3 things to know from the DEA’s 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment
“It’s not about telling kids anymore, ‘don’t do this and don’t do that,’” said John DeLena, associate administrator for the DEA. “That simply doesn’t work. Young people want to learn the information so that they can make the good, safe, healthy decision. Because take my word for it, every young person, when they are faced with this, our hope is that you have that information and you pull upon it and make a life-saving decision at that time.”
Last year, the DEA seized 79 million fake fentanyl pills and 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, DeLena said, enough to kill 389 million Americans. And that’s just what the federal agency seized.
The number of people currently dying from drug overdoses is equivalent to “essentially a 9/11 occurring every 11 days in this country,” he said. “There is not a more critical time for us to get the message out there.”
Joining the event virtually to share her story was Ava Michelle, an actress from Netflix’s “Tall Girl” series who lost her brother Devon to fentanyl poisoning in 2021. While struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, he’d purchased on Instagram what he thought was a Percocet pill.
It turned out to be 8 milligrams of fentanyl, four times the amount of a single deadly dose.
Michelle and her mother formed the Devon Michael Foundation in the aftermath of his death, dedicated to spreading awareness and education about fentanyl poisoning.
What happened to Michelle’s brother is not a one-off. The DEA’s 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment showed approximately 7 in 10 fake pills contain a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl, approximately 2 milligrams, based on forensic laboratory analysis.
Caroline Root, a substance use intervention and prevention project manager for Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early, said they regularly hear alarming stories from high school and college students who took what they thought was a Xanax, Adderall or Percocet pill “and immediately experience an overdose.”
“We have seen in our community, in Worcester County, a staggering increase in overdose deaths,” Root said. “Fentanyl is being used to lace a lot of street drugs right now because of its high potency and it’s so cheap to manufacture.”
For more information on the DEA’s “one pill can kill” campaign, visit www.dea.gov/onepill.
More health-related stories
- UMass Chan, WHO seal trans-Atlantic research partnership at new building celebration
- A generation at risk: Is early puberty the new public health crisis?
- West Springfield pet owners advised to confirm distemper vaccinations after increase in wildlife illnesses
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
