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“I’m Fighting Fake Pills”

Ashley Adams lost her sister to a fake pill. Now she’s helping keep other kids safe.

April 2023

by Mary Kate Frank with reporting by Rachel Morris

Before You Read: Check out our Background Builder slideshow

Gregg & Cath Photographers

Emily Adams

On her birthday in 2020, Ashley Adams got a call she would never forget. Her older sister, Emily, was gone. How could that be?

Emily was 21 when she died. Ashley remembers Emily as very kind. She grew vegetables and gave them to people who didn’t have enough to eat. She baked treats for her teachers. When Ashley needed advice, Emily was always there.

But then Emily took what she thought was a prescription painkiller for a toothache. She may have bought the pill online. It looked like a real painkiller from a doctor, but it wasn’t. It contained a deadly drug called fentanyl [FEHN-tuh-nil].

That one pill killed Emily.

The news shocked Ashley, now 18. “It didn’t seem real,” she says.

Sadly, Emily is among thousands of teens and young adults who have died from fentanyl without ever knowing they have taken the drug. Fake prescription pills—often sold on social media—are a big reason teen drug deaths are rising.

On her birthday in 2020, Ashley Adams got a call. Her older sister, Emily, was gone.

When Emily died, she was 21. Ashley says Emily was kind. She grew vegetables. She gave them to people who needed food. When Ashley needed advice, Emily always helped her.

But then Emily took a pill for a toothache. She thought it was a prescription painkiller. She may have bought the pill online. It looked like a real painkiller from a doctor. But it wasn’t. It contained fentanyl [FEHN-tuh-nil]. That’s a deadly drug.

That one pill killed Emily.

The news shocked Ashley, who is now 18. “It didn’t seem real,” she says.

Like Emily, thousands of teens and young adults have died from fentanyl without knowing they had taken the drug. Fake prescription pills are often sold on social media. They are a big reason teen drug deaths are rising.

On her birthday in 2020, Ashley Adams received a call she would never forget. Her older sister, Emily, was gone. How was that possible?

Ashley remembers Emily, who died at the age of 21, as very kind. Emily grew vegetables and gave them to people who didn’t have enough to eat. She baked treats for her teachers, and she was always glad to help when Ashley needed advice.

But then Emily took what she believed was a prescription painkiller for a toothache. The pill, which she may have purchased online, looked like a real painkiller from a doctor—but it wasn’t. It contained a deadly drug called fentanyl [FEHN-tuh-nil].

That one pill killed Emily.

The news shocked Ashley, now 18. “It didn’t seem real,” she recalls.

PAUSE AND THINK: What is fentanyl?

A Deadly Drug

Shutterstock.com

Fentanyl is a type of drug called an opioid. Opioids are a kind of medicine for pain. You may have taken a painkiller such as Tylenol for a headache. Opioids are much more powerful.

Doctors sometimes prescribe opioids to cancer patients and people recovering from surgery. But opioids have serious risks, such as addiction and overdose.

Fentanyl is especially dangerous. It should only be handled by medical professionals. The drug is very potent. An amount that can fit on the tip of a pencil can stop a person’s breathing. So why did the pill Emily took contain fentanyl?

It’s cheap to make fentanyl illegally. That’s why drug dealers secretly mix it into other illegal drugs. It’s also why they sell fentanyl disguised as prescription medicines.

Fentanyl is an opioid. That’s a type of drug. Opioids are used as medicine for pain. They are very strong. They are much stronger than Tylenol, for instance.

Doctors sometimes prescribe opioids to cancer patients or people healing after surgery. But opioids have serious risks. People can become addicted. They can overdose.

Fentanyl is extra dangerous. Only medical professionals should handle it. The drug is very potent. An amount small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil can stop a person’s breathing. So why is it used in fake pills?

It’s cheap to make fentanyl illegally. Drug dealers mix it into other illegal drugs. They also sell fake prescription medicines that contain fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a type of drug called an opioid. Opioids are a kind of medication for pain. You may have taken a painkiller such as Tylenol for a headache. Opioids are much more powerful.

Doctors sometimes prescribe opioids to cancer patients, people recovering from surgery, and other people dealing with extreme pain. But opioids have serious risks, such as addiction and overdose.

Fentanyl is especially dangerous and should be handled only by medical professionals. The drug is so potent that just the amount that can fit on the tip of a pencil can stop a person’s breathing. So why did the pill Emily took contain fentanyl?

Making fentanyl illegally is inexpensive, so drug dealers secretly mix it into other illegal drugs. For the same reason, they also sell fentanyl disguised as prescription medicines.

PAUSE AND THINK: Why is fentanyl so dangerous?

Real or Fake?

Fake—and illegal—painkiller pills are sold on the streets, online, and via smartphone apps. Drug dealers target teens on social media platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram.

The people who buy these pills usually have no idea they contain fentanyl. You cannot taste, smell, or see the drug. It can be impossible to tell the difference between real and fake pills even if you look at them side by side.

Experts say fake pills are a major reason deadly drug overdoses among teens nearly doubled from 2019 to 2020. They rose again the next year. In 2021, 77 percent of all teen overdose deaths involved fentanyl.

Fake painkillers are illegal. These pills are sold on the streets. They are sold online. Drug dealers use social media to target teens.

Often, the people who buy these pills don’t know they contain fentanyl. You can’t taste, smell, or see the drug. The fake pills often look just like real pills.

Experts say fake pills are a big reason deadly drug overdoses among teens nearly doubled from 2019 to 2020. They rose again in 2021. That year, 77 percent of all teen overdose deaths involved fentanyl.

Fake—and illegal—painkiller pills are sold on the streets, online, and via smartphone apps. Drug dealers target teenagers on social media platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram.

Usually, the people who buy these pills have no idea they contain fentanyl. You cannot taste, smell, or see the drug, and it can be impossible to distinguish fake pills from real ones even in a side-by-side comparison.

According to experts, fake pills are a major reason deadly drug overdoses among teens nearly doubled from 2019 to 2020. They rose again the following year. In 2021, 77 percent of all teen overdose deaths involved fentanyl.

PAUSE AND THINK: How can people take fentanyl without knowing it?

Protecting Teens

Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) calls fentanyl “the single deadliest drug threat” ever faced by the United States. Fake pills containing fentanyl have been found in every state in the country.

The DEA has launched a campaign called One Pill Can Kill to raise awareness of fentanyl. Last year, the agency took more than 50 million fentanyl pills off the streets.

Using social media, police officers posing as drug buyers have been able to find and arrest drug dealers. Social media companies also say they’re working to keep teens safe. For example, if someone searches for certain drug-related words on Snapchat, they’ll be directed to content about the dangers of fake pills.

Anne Milgram works for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). She says fentanyl is a huge threat to people’s safety. Fake pills containing fentanyl have been found in every state in the country.

The DEA wants to raise awareness of the danger. They launched a campaign called One Pill Can Kill. Last year, the agency took more than 50 million fentanyl pills off the streets.

On social media, police officers pose as drug buyers to find and arrest drug dealers. Social media companies also say they’re working to keep teens safe. Let’s say you search Snapchat for certain drug-related words. You’ll be sent to content about the dangers of fake pills.

To raise awareness of fentanyl, the DEA has launched a campaign called One Pill Can Kill. Last year, the agency took more than 50 million fentanyl pills off the streets.

Police officers posing as drug buyers on social media have been able to locate and arrest drug dealers. Social media companies also say they’re working to keep teens safe. For example, on Snapchat, if someone searches for certain drug-related words, they’ll be directed to content about the dangers of fake pills.

PAUSE AND THINK: What is being done to protect teens from fake pills?

3 Ways to Fight Fake Pills

1. Never take any prescription pill that is not given to you by a doctor or pharmacist.

2. Warn others about the dangers of fake prescription pills.

3. Call 911 if you think someone might be overdosing.

Honoring Emily

Sadly, these efforts came too late to prevent Emily’s death. Her dream had been to become a drug counselor. She had once struggled with a drug problem. But she had been drug-free for 18 months when she died.

At the time she passed away, Emily had a card in her wallet reading “You matter.” Today both Ashley and her mom spread that message to others. They visit schools in their home state of Colorado to warn teens about the dangers of fentanyl and fake prescription pills. At the end of their talk, students are invited to share their thoughts on index cards and place them in Emily’s old backpack. More than 1,000 cards now fill the bag.

“It’s healing,” says Ashley. “I’m reaching out to kids and could possibly save lives.”

Sadly, these efforts came too late to prevent Emily’s death. She planned on becoming a drug counselor. She had once struggled with a drug problem. But she had been drug-free for 18 months when she died.

When she died, Emily had a card in her wallet. It read “You matter.” Today both Ashley and her mom spread that message to others. They visit schools in their home state of Colorado. They warn teens about the dangers of fentanyl and fake prescription pills. After their talk, students can share their thoughts on index cards and place them in Emily’s old backpack. More than 1,000 cards now fill the bag.

“It’s healing,” says Ashley. “I’m reaching out to kids and could possibly save lives.”

Sadly, these efforts came too late to prevent Emily’s death. Her dream had been to become a drug counselor. She had once struggled with a drug problem, but she had been drug-free for 18 months when she died.

At the time that she passed away, Emily had a card in her wallet reading “You matter.” Today both Ashley and her mother are spreading that message to others by visiting schools in their home state of Colorado. They warn teens about the dangers of fentanyl and fake prescription pills. At the end of their talk, students are invited to share their reactions on index cards and place them in Emily’s old backpack—which now holds more than 1,000 cards.

“It’s healing,” explains Ashley. “I’m reaching out to kids and could possibly save lives.”

PAUSE AND THINK: What are Ashley and her mom doing to honor Emily?

If you or someone you know is struggling with drug use, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration hotline at 1-800-662-4357.