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Use your influence

When it comes to drugs, you hear a lot about peer pressure—and it’s almost always bad. But when you use your influence to encourage your friends to be healthy and safe, peer pressure can be good too. Your friends care about what you think. Tell them about staying away from fake pills and fentanyl.

Friends playing cards in a game room.

Real facts
about fake pills

Friends share funny videos, history notes, favorite snacks, and car rides home. Not pills.

Friends hang outside on blanket.

Illegal fentanyl is a harmful drug. It’s showing up in fake pills that look like real prescription OxyContin, Adderall, Percocet, and Xanax.

Fentanyl is being mixed into other drugs, especially powders like cocaine, meth, and MDMA.

Fentanyl goes by many names. Even if a pill or powder isn’t called fentanyl, it can still have fentanyl in it.

Any amount of powder or pill laced with fentanyl can be enough to cause an overdose or death.

Fentanyl has no unique look, taste, or smell. You can’t tell just by looking whether something has fentanyl in it.

THIS IS YOUR
PREFRONTAL CORTEX

It helps you decide whether a choice is safe, and it’s still growing and changing until about the age of 25. That can make it hard to tell how risky something actually is.

The fact is taking pills that aren’t prescribed to you is never a safe choice.

Opioids, like illegal fentanyl, can hurt healthy brain development, confuse your brain’s reward center, and create dependency and addiction. The risk to your health and your future just isn’t worth it.

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Image of friends chatting. Illustration of frontal lobe layered over the image.
Image of friends chatting. Illustration of frontal lobe layered over the image.
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THIS IS YOUR
PREFRONTAL CORTEX

It helps you decide whether a choice is safe, and it’s still growing and changing until about the age of 25. That can make it hard to tell how risky something actually is.

The fact is taking pills that aren’t prescribed to you is never a safe choice.

Opioids, like illegal fentanyl, can hurt healthy brain development, confuse your brain’s reward center, and create dependency and addiction. The risk to your health and your future just isn’t worth it.

Two friends playing handheld video games.

Ways you 
can help

Most people your age don’t experiment with pills at all, so it’s perfectly OK not to try them. Teens who do experiment with pills are often experiencing mental health struggles, physical pain, or negative peer pressure. As a friend, you can help keep your friends safe.

Two friends play rock paper scissors in a hammock.

Check in

If your friend isn’t acting like their usual self, talk to them about what’s going on. If the problem is serious, also talk to a trusted adult.

Friends in a car - laughing and looking outside.

Get involved

Happinesss is contagious. Whether it’s trying out for a sports team, making art, or playing video games, encourage your friends to do things that make them feel healthy and happy.

Two friends speak outside

Refuse together

Tell your friends what you know about the risks of fake pills and fentanyl. Make a pact not to take or share pills.

How to refuse drugs

Making a decision in the moment is never easy. By practicing refusing pills and other drugs, you’ll be ready to respond if someone offers them to you. Use the tips below to decide what you’ll say and who you’ll go to for help.

Friends outside on bleachers, laughing.

Send a signal

Agree on a codeword you can say in a text or call with your parent, caregiver, or someone you trust to come pick you up ASAP.

Pass the blame

“I’d be grounded for life if my parents (caregivers) found out.” 

Offer an alternative

“I’d rather get a bite to eat instead.”

Make an excuse

“I can’t. I have a huge test/game/audition tomorrow.” 

Be honest

“No, thanks. I’m not interested.” 

Avoid the situation

Avoid going places where drugs are likely to be present. 

FAQS

Opioids are a type of drug used to manage pain. Opioids relieve pain by binding to nerve receptors in the brain, spinal cord, and other organs.

Legal (regulated) opioids are often prescribed following surgeries or injuries or as part of cancer treatments. Illegal (unregulated) opioids are sold online or on the street. 

Fentanyl is a powerful, fast-acting opioid.

Legal fentanyl is regulated. It is used in hospital settings or by prescription to manage pain.

Illegal fentanyl is unregulated. It is extremely unpredictable and can vary in potency based on the maker or the batch. It is usually sold as a fake prescription pill. These fake pills can look like Adderall, Xanax, Percocet, and more.

It can also be sold as a powder or mixed into other drugs, like cocaine or MDMA. 

Fentanyl does not have a unique look, taste, or smell to identify it. On its own, it may appear white, off-white, or brownish in color—like heroin, cocaine, or pressed pills.

However, fake fentanyl-laced pills come in many colors, depending on the color of the real prescription pills they mimic.

It is not possible to tell by a pill or powder’s look, taste, or smell whether it contains fentanyl. It also is not possible to tell if a pill is real or fake unless you pick it up from a pharmacy yourself.

Fentanyl goes by many names. Some common ones to know are blues, fent, fenty, fetty, mexis, M-30s or 30s, percs, or skittles. Even if a pill or powder isn’t called fentanyl, it can still have fentanyl in it.

Illegal fentanyl is harmful, but medical experts agree you cannot overdose by touching fentanyl. Overdoses happen when fentanyl is ingested (swallowed, snorted, injected, etc.) and enters the bloodstream. 

Someone may be overdosing if:

  1. They can’t wake up. Even when you call their name or shake them firmly.
  2. They are breathing very slowly or not at all.
  3. They are turning blue, gray, or purple. Check around their lips and fingernails.
  4. They look ashen or feel cold to the touch.

If you think someone has overdosed, call 911 right away—even if there are drugs present. Washington state’s Good Samaritan law protects you both from prosecution for simple drug possession.

Then give them naloxone.

Learn more about the signs of an overdose and what you can do to help. 

  1. Mental health – Teens experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, or emotional pain may seek out pills to self-medicate. They may be likely to use alone.
  2. Physical pain – Teens who are injured or experiencing physical pain may seek out pills to self-medicate.
  3. Social pressure – Teens may experiment in social settings with people who are drinking, taking pills, or using other drugs.  

Some teens take fentanyl knowingly. Many more take it accidentally — mistaking fake fentanyl-laced pills for real prescription OxyContin, Adderall, Xanax, or Percocet. 

Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a life-saving medication that reverses opioid overdoses. It is available as a nasal spray or intramuscular injection.

Anyone! It’s simple, safe, and legal. You do not need special training to give someone naloxone.

If you use naloxone on someone who has not taken opioids, it will not hurt them. If a person has taken opioids, naloxone may cause withdrawal symptoms. They may wake up experiencing body aches, fever, irritability, or nausea, but they will be alive.

It is legal for anyone in Washington to get, carry, and use naloxone. Naloxone is available to buy over the counter at pharmacies like Rite-Aid, Walgreens, and CVS. Prices range from $40 to $50. Many communities also have resources that make naloxone available for free.


Find a place near you to pick up naloxone.  

Naloxone blocks the effects of opioids. It helps reverse an opioid overdose to wake someone up.

Naloxone has no effect on someone who is not on opioids. It does not work to treat the effects of other drugs or alcohol.

Learn more about naloxone.

Yes, naloxone works on fentanyl. In fact, it is the best way we know of to reverse a fentanyl overdose. Because fentanyl is such a strong opioid, it may take multiple doses of naloxone to reverse an overdose. Wait 2-3 minutes between doses. It does not work any better or faster to administer multiple doses at once.

You should always administer naloxone if you think someone is overdosing. It can’t hurt them, but it can save their life. 

In Washington state, Good Samaritan laws protect people who call 911 about an opioid overdose from prosecution for simple drug possession. Before these laws existed, many people wouldn’t call 911 for help with an overdose. They were afraid of getting in trouble for having drugs. The goal of Good Samaritan laws is for people to feel secure calling 911 for help in the event of an overdose.