Counterfeit opioids making the rounds in C. Oregon

Counterfeit prescription drugs are being sold illegally in Oregon. These fake pills contain potent substances, including heroin and fentanyl.

Police say they’ve caused overdose deaths. The drugs are being illegally marketed as Xanax, oxycodone and alprazolam, to name a few.

Fentanyl can be 100 to 10,000 times more potent than morphine or heroin, which means it has potentially deadly consequences.

Sadly, this problem is not on the decline in Central Oregon.

“If someone thinks that they have heroin and they use that, they can very quickly overdose,” BestCare Services CEO Rick Treleaven said Tuesday. “It’s a very dangerous drug, and it’s begun to seep in during the last year in Central Oregon, and we’re just going to be seeing more deaths as a result.”

Law enforcement officials said it’s tough for officers in the field to differentiate between real and counterfeit drugs, which further complicates the problem.

“It may be difficult for the officer out in the field to make the determination whether that drug is real or fake,” Redmond police Lt. Curtis Chambers said. “We would rely on our partnership with the Oregon State Police Crime Lab to make a determination, as far as if it’s an actual drug or not.”

Redmond police told NewsChannel 21 they have not seen any cases of fake drugs at this point.