Health officials warn fake ‘blue pills’ are causing hundreds of overdoses in SC
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – South Carolina’s Opioid Emergency Response Team has issued a warning about a new counterfeit pain pill blamed for hundreds of opioid overdoses across the state.
The OERT advisory said the fake, 30mg Roxicodone, also known as “blue pills,” are laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.
Since January 2020, more than 500 suspected opioid overdoses statewide have involved “blue pills,” according to the OERT alert.
“It’s something that might be perceived to be a safe, prescription drug, that could be misused perhaps. When really, it’s an illicitly made manufactured, potent drug that is deadly,” Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services Director Sara Goldsby said. “That’s where we’ve been identifying it is in individuals who have experienced overdose related to these blue pills.”
