AI and Smartphone Apps Help Identify Counterfeit and Laced Prescription Drugs Behind Soaring Overdose Deaths
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Some companies like Alitheon are using AI and smartphone apps to identify counterfeit prescription drugs by verifying packaging and digital fingerprints.
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The apps can also detect fake pills laced with fentanyl that are made to look like legitimate medicine.
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DEA data shows nearly 60 million fentanyl-laced fake pills were seized in 2022.
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The Snohomish County Regional Drug Task Force sees fentanyl as the current drug of choice and thinks AI could aid efforts.
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CDC data shows overdose deaths from counterfeit prescription drugs have more than doubled since mid-2019.