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PASCO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Attorney General Ashley Moody is warning parents of a “concerning” pill killing hundreds of Floridians each year.
During a press conference in Pasco County Monday, AG Moody sounded the alarm on Floridians and parents of children who may be using illicit drugs.
“Last year, more than 110,000 Americans died of an overdose, and most of those who died, died from fentanyl poisoning,” Moody said. “Twenty-three people will die just today from opioids.”
Moody said Pinellas and Pasco Counties “had the most fentanyl deaths state-wide last year with 374 fentanyl overdose deaths in just the first six months of last year.”
“Perhaps the most concerning way fentanyl is being used is in counterfeit pills,” Moody warned. “I call these murder pills.”
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She added that the fastest-growing population being affected by fentanyl is children aged 5-14.
“Fentanyl is now being found in almost every type of illicit drug,” Moody said. Citing a recent DEA study, the attorney general said six out of every 10 counterfeit pills seized contained fentanyl in a less-lethal dose.
In April, troopers seized enough fentanyl to kill more than 175,000 people.
“To put that into perspective, that is enough fentanyl to kill every single person in New Port Richey more than 10 times over — from one traffic stop,” Moody said.
“The most important message we could send on National Fentanyl Prevention Awareness Day is to never use an illicit substance,” she added. “Just one pill can kill, and the next time you use could be your last.”
