Pills in Disguise: The Surprising Surge of Fentanyl Seizures

From 2017 to 2023, U.S. law enforcement reported a significant increase in seizures of illicit fentanyl, particularly in pill form. Over 115 million fentanyl-containing pills were seized in 2023, up from about 50,000 in 2017. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

NIH-supported study highlights increasingly dangerous illicit drug supply, risk of pills not coming from a pharmacy.

Law enforcement seizures of illicit fentanyl increased dramatically in number and size between 2017 to 2023 in the U.S., especially in pill form, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

The number of individual pills containing fentanyl seized by law enforcement was 2,300 times greater in 2023 compared to 2017, with 115,562,603 pills seized in 2023 vs. 49,657 in 2017. The proportion of fentanyl pill seizures to the total number of fentanyl seizures more than quadrupled, with pills representing 49% of illicit fentanyl seizures in 2023 compared to 10% in 2017. The study also found a significant increase in the number and weight of fentanyl-containing powder seizures during this time.