Fentanyl crisis: DEA seizes 47 million counterfeit pills in 2025

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported seizing more than 47 million fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills and nearly 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2025. These seizures are estimated to be equivalent to 369 million lethal doses. The DEA noted that Mexican criminal organizations, specifically the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG, are pressing fentanyl into counterfeit pills designed to resemble prescription medications like Xanax, oxycodone, and Percocet.

A large-scale study published in Clinical Medicine has provided further insight into the scale of the crisis, finding that illicit fentanyl use in the United States is more than twice as common as medical use. Analyzing a dataset of 300 million patients, researchers found that illicit-source users accounted for 71.1% of the study cohort.

The study also highlighted that illicit fentanyl exposure carries a nonfatal overdose risk up to three times higher than medical-source exposure. According to the researchers, illicit use is most prevalent in Ohio.