Study: Teen OD deaths driven by counterfeits, not necessarily relating to addiction

Abstract

Adolescents who want to experiment with drugs are not seeking illicit fentanyl, and in fact many believe what they are taking is a benzodiazepine or another prescription medication, but in fact, it's a counterfeit masking as a seemingly safer medication and containing illicit fentanyl, which can be lethal even for those who are tolerant to opioids. For naïve users, they are fatal.