Sheriff Lutz issues PSA on drug safety

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- The Muskingum County Sheriff is issuing a public service announcement after lab results of drugs confiscated in a bust are returned.

Sheriff Matt Lutz said several blue round pills marked A 215 were taken during the raid in April. The pills were identified as oxycodone and were sent to the BCI lab for testing.

“In this particular case we got the information back that these blue tablets that look like normal medication tablets that you get actually contained other ingredients,” said Lutz. “Due to the fact that it had the fentanyl part of it there, not to mention the cocaine and heroin involved, we just wanted to make sure that we pass that along to our citizens as well as our first responders.”

Lutz said these drugs are often regular prescription pills that are dipped in other substances and can be fatal.

“If you come across any type of pill, any type of bag with a substance in it, you really want to leave it alone and call the professionals and let us deal with it,” said Lutz. “A lot of this stuff now just with human touch can be absorbed into the body and therefore it’s almost like you’re ingesting it yourself which would be an accidental type overdose.”

It’s not known if there are any more of these pills in the area. Lutz urges everyone to use caution if they come across pills they are unsure of.