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Caption The recent cases of fentanyl-related harm, overdose, and death in the U.S. are linked not to prescription drugs but to illegally made fentanyl. Credit: DEA
Georgia’s Department of Public Health has issued a warning about a cluster of overdoses from counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl, a potent opioid drug.
Roughly 100 cases are suspected in the Augusta area, according to Public Health officials. But there also have been cases reported in the Savannah area and northwest Georgia, as well as a few in metro Atlanta.
The sellers of the pills may have claimed they were Xanax, a drug used to treat anxiety and panic disorders, or the painkiller Percocet, according to a Monday alert from state epidemiologist Cherie Drenzek to community leaders.