By Joseph Domelowicz Jr.
Everett City Councilor John Leo McKinnon, who chairs the Council’s Special Opioid Committee, and has been among leading voices in the local fight against opioid addiction in Everett, announced last week that a dangerous pill that had been circulating in Florida, New jersey and other states along the east coast has finally surfaced in the Boston area.
McKinnon referred to an advisory issued by the Boston Police Department, which reports BPD’s investigation into several overdoses that were possibly caused by this pill.
According to the advisory, “the Boston Police Department is currently conducting an investigation into the sale of pills which are being sold illegally on the street as the prescription drug Oxycodone but have been found to actually be made of Fentanyl. This dangerous drug is being sold to buyers who presume the pills, which are accurately formed and marked with the designation A/215, are Oxycodone 30 mg tablets.”
“These same type of pills were being sold in Florida a couple of months ago and were found to be the cause of at least 9 overdose deaths there,” explained McKinnon. “They have also been reported in New Jersey and other states on the East coast and it looks like they are being sold here as oxy pills. Anyone who ingests these Fentanyl pills may put themselves in serious danger of overdosing which can result in death.”
The Boston Police Department is actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding the pills and is urging anyone with information to contact Boston Police Drug Control Unit at (617) 343-5625. Locally, Everett residents can also contact the Everett Police Department.