Fake pills = real risk

It can feel daunting being a parent today, trying to figure out how to protect your kids from risks that you yourself may have never faced. You set boundaries, model good choices, even lay out consequences when they cross the line. You do everything you can to keep them safe.
But sometimes, no matter how hard you try, one bad decision can prove deadly.
Many of us by now know someone who has lost a loved one to fentanyl. Often, its fentanyl disguised as something else a party drug, or what looks like a harmless pill being passed around at school.
The problem has hit Native communities especially hard. Over the weekend, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Omaha Field Division hosted its fourth annual Family Summit at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The event focused on the impact of fentanyl and other drugs on tribal communities, while also incorporating indigenous healing practices. Fifteen tribes were represented, along with the families of 10 individuals who died from fentanyl overdoses.
Todays Family Summit allowed us an opportunity to connect with and hear from several of our Midwestern Tribal community members, DEA Special Agent in Charge Dustin Gillespie said.
Still, the epidemic doesnt discriminate.
The fentanyl epidemic touches countless lives and its important that we keep the line of communication open in order to find new avenues to reach people from all walks of life, Gillespie added.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 80,000 overdose deaths nationwide in 2024, and nearly 70 percent of those involved fentanyl. In just the first nine months of this year, the DEA says it pulled 3.8 million lethal doses off the streets across Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Ive reported on this issue before. It continues to come up again and again. Still, despite all of the information, Ive had close friends lose children they never would have suspected might experiment with a pill. But they did and their children were gone in an instant.
So what can we tell you now that might save a life or make it different this time? Perhaps this: The DEA has been sharing side-by-side images of real versus fake pills. Parents are encouraged to look closely the differences are subtle, and sometimes nearly impossible to spot. Look at these images (see below) and talk with your kids.
Perhaps just as important, pay attention to their phones. So much of this starts in texts and group chats a mention of percs, blues, beans, or oxy. Maybe its someone joking about bringing something to a party, or daring a friend to try it. To kids, it can sound casual, harmless, even cool. To parents, those messages should be a flashing warning light.
You dont need to know every slang term. But you do need to be in the conversation. Ask questions, scroll through messages together when you can, and dont be afraid to have the uncomfortable talk. Your kids might roll their eyes, but theyll remember later that you cared enough to try.
At the end of the day, that awareness and those conversations could be what keeps them safe.
To learn more about fentanyl or to find resources to share, visit dea.gov/onepill.