One Pill Can Kill; The Alarming Rise of Fentanyl Overdoses in Virginia

One pill can killPhoto byStewart Wu / Unsplash

LURAY, Va. – Ten state and law enforcement agencies of the Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force are encouraging area residents to take advantage of Virginia's new anti-drug awareness initiative.

According to a press release from Virginia State Police (VSP) Sergeant Brent W Coffey, the "One Pill Can Kill," initiative was launched by the Office of the Virginia Attorney General and is modeled after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's national campaign.

The task force is comprised of local law enforcement personnel from the Clarke, Frederick, Page, Warren, and Shenandoah County Sheriff's Departments, the Front Royal, Luray, Strasburg, and Winchester Police Departments, and the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Culpeper Field Office.

Additionally, the campaign supports Governor Glenn Youngkin's Executive Order 26, which aims to strengthen Virginia's response to the current fentanyl crisis.

"The Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force interdicts all illicit drugs, but is especially focused on disrupting the supply chains responsible for flooding our local region with fake prescription pills," said VSP Special Agent Harvey Stover, Task Force Supervisor.

Last week, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares launched the campaign's new ONE PILL CAN KILL website that features a variety of preventative and educational resources for Virginians of all ages to learn more about the deadly dangers of fake prescription pills containing lethal substances like fentanyl.

According to the OAG, an estimated 1,967 people died from overdoses of fentanyl or other synthetic opioids in Virginia in 2022. Fentanyl, the synthetic opioid most commonly found in fake pills, is the primary driver in this alarming increase in poisoning deaths.

"Last year, the task force seized 5,000 pills containing fentanyl or an estimated $100,000 worth of fake pills containing fentanyl. Every one of those pills removed from the street is a potential fatal overdose prevented and a life saved," said Stover.

Nationwide, drugs like fentanyl accounted for 77% of teen overdose deaths in 2021. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, the overdose mortality rate among U.S. adolescents aged 14 to 18 years old rose by 94% between 2019 and 2020.

The media release also cited other alarming statistics:

Between Feb. 10, 2024, and Feb. 24, 2024, the Northwest Task Force has seen 11 overdoses, including five deaths. In comparison, there were only five overdoses, including one death, between Jan. 1, 2024, and Feb. 10, 2024.

“The past few weeks have made the threat we face from fentanyl apparent,” said Chief Kahle Magalis with the Front Royal Police Department. “We want to caution the public and make them aware of exactly how lethal fentanyl can be."

In addition to the spike in overdoses, the task force has seized approximately four times the amount of fentanyl in the first two months of 2024 as the task force did in all 12 months of 2023.

"Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered," said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. "Fentanyl is everywhere. From large metropolitan areas to rural America, no community is safe from this poison.

The Northwest Virginia Regional Drug and Gang Task Force is a HIDTA funded initiative.