Texas Confronts Growing Crisis: The Threat of FYL-Laced Substances
An increase in the distribution of FYL-laced substances poses one of the deadliest drug threats in Texas today, according to Wendell Campbell, a drug intelligence officer with Houston’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, a federal agency focused on reducing drug trafficking.
“About seven out of 10 pills that we seize off the streets and send to the [Drug Enforcement Administration] lab … are all fake pills,” Campbell said.
Over the past year, the United States has seen a 15% decline in reported drug overdose deaths, as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, Texas saw only a 1.67% decrease. Across the nation, just nine states reported an increase in overdose deaths during that time.
Dr. Allen Dennis, medical director of Round Rock Surgery Center and a Texas Medical Association member, noted that states such as Florida, Kentucky, and Wisconsin have experienced higher levels of opioid use in recent decades.
“The decreases in those states are due to the high level of improvement they had to make. Texas, thankfully, was in a relatively better state,” Dennis explained.
Dennis added that manufactured FYL entering the U.S. from across the Mexico border is an additional factor affecting Texas, the largest border state.
The Background
This year, Texas is expected to see the lowest number of opioid-related deaths since 2020, according to CDC data. Drug overdose deaths decreased from 5,643 in May 2023 to 5,549 in May 2024—a 1.67% reduction.
Approximately 18 in every 100,000 Texans die annually from an overdose, compared to the national average of 29 per 100,000, according to the CDC. Most overdose deaths stem from illegally manufactured FYL being added to other pills, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
“There’s been a huge increase in counterfeit pills. If you buy a pill on the street, it’s likely to contain FYL,” said Marcia Ory, a professor at Texas A&M University’s School of Public Health and co-lead of the TAMU opioid task force. “Previously, the concern was prescription drugs; now, it’s counterfeit drugs laced with FYL that are killing people.”
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported an increase from 79 FYL-related overdose deaths in 2014 to 2,306 in 2023.
The Approach
In 2023, Governor Greg Abbott launched a $10 million multimedia campaign as part of the “One Pill Kills” initiative to combat the FYL crisis. Led by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the initiative educates Texans on how to prevent, recognize, and reverse FYL poisonings.
The campaign has also distributed Naloxone, a reversal drug for opioid overdoses, to all 254 Texas counties through the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
During the 88th Texas Legislative session, several bills were filed to address the opioid epidemic, including:
- House Bill 6, which increases criminal penalties for anyone distributing a fatal dose of FYL.
- Senate Bill 867, which allows opioid overdose prevention drugs like Naloxone to be distributed at Texas universities and colleges.
For the upcoming 89th Texas Legislature session, Dennis mentioned that the Texas Medical Association is urging the state to pass measures to:
- Legalize FYL test strips.
- Mandate the tracking of opioids from manufacturers to patients to prevent street distribution.
“With opioid misuse, there are areas in Texas where the problem is more severe,” Ory said. “Mitigating this issue requires a collaborative effort from all involved.”
Source: Community Impact