Health

D.E.A., V.I.P.D. and Dept. of Health Sound the Alarm as Use of Deadly Synthetic Opioid Fentanyl Grows in USVI

Virgin Islands law enforcement and health officials issued a grave warning Tuesday: Anyone who takes the little blue pills being pushed illegally on the streets as the opioid pain-reliever, OxyContin, risks losing their life. At least four fatal overdoses on St. Croix and other, non-fatal overdoses in recent months have authorities cautioning the public – and scrambling to stem the surge of the fentanyl-laced drugs into the territory. Investigators believe blue pills being trafficked as the OxyContin are, in reality, counterfeit tablets containing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is deadly in quantities as small as two milligrams. ‘Like Playing Russian Roulette with Your Life’ “A lot of the users of these drugs do not know they are taking drugs that contain fentanyl,” said Tracey Gardner, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s St. Croix outpost. “Taking these drugs is like playing Russian roulette with your life.” The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Virg...