The current demand for prescription drugs of abuse, especially narcotics, presents new challenges to law enforcement officers: mimics, fakes, and counterfeits. Mimics are pills that look like a popular prescription drug but contain a different impairing substance that has been substituted by the clandestine chemist. Fake pills are rip-off pills which contain no impairing drug. Counterfeit pills appear and contain the actual drug, but are illegally manufactured. Field and laboratory identification and confirmation testing of these pills can be much more difficult compared to common illicit drugs such as cocaine or heroin.
Illicit OxyContin
For example, during a traffic stop on I-80 a police officer discovered $370,000 in cash and a large number of round, green pills marked “OC” on one side and “80” on the reverse side. 1 The head stamps and color are consistent with the Perdue Pharma prescription narcotic drug OxyContin®, one of the most sought after narcotic drugs. However, the crime laboratory did not detect any oxycodone, the active ingredient in OxyContin. Analysis by GC/MS discovered the presence of bootleg fentanyl, a synthetic narcotic that can be hundreds of times more potent than heroin.
One way to potentially spot mimic or fake prescription drugs is to cut into one representative pill. Real OxyContin pills are color coded on the outside of the pills but are white on the inside— counterfeit pills are generally colored throughout the entire pill as it is difficult for underground labs to color coat just the outside of mimic pills.2
Not all fentanyl analogs are currently scheduled controlled substances. Crime laboratories may have difficulty identifying which one of the dozen analogs that have recently appeared as street drugs is contained in the seized pills. In America, nine clandestine labs have been discovered producing illicit fentanyl.3
In addition to prescription narcotic mimics, depressants such as methaqualone (AKA: Quaaludes or Ludes) and Klonopin® (AKA: Pins) have been discovered by police. The Northern Illinois Crime Lab in Highland Park has reported mimic Quaalude pills. The round, white pills stamped “LEMMON 714” were found to contain common Valium rather than the banned methaqualone.4 Police officers are advised that “LEMMON 714” stamped pills are all fake as legitimate methaqualone has not been produced since 1983.
Mimics of Klonopin may be legitimate clonazepam produced in Mexico and purchased over the internet as “Rivotril” or “Ravotril.” Mimic pills have been found made from a light yellow crystalline powder and sold as “Roofies.”
In the case of mimic, fake or counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs, final criminal charges may not be possible until a confirmation lab report determine of the actual substance is a scheduled drug. Check with the State’s Attorney to determine if charging is appropriate under the controlled substances statute, the analog law, or the look-a-like law.
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- Microgram Bulletin, US Drug Enforcement Administration, January, 2006. Drug report based on a submission from the Cass County Sheriff’s Department to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department laboratory. This was the first of several fentanyl containing Oxy Contin mimic pills. [↩]
- Ibid. [↩]
- http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/srs/20469/index/htm [↩]
- Microgram Bulletin, US Drug Enforcement Administration, January 2007, [↩]
