In a statement released on Monday, state Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, said House Bill 1209, a bipartisan bill he is cosponsoring, “could become the most significant policy to come out of this session to address the region’s fentanyl crisis and rising overdose deaths.”
HB 1209 would make knowingly having or using pill presses with the intent to make counterfeit pills a Class C felony under state law. Drug dealers use pill presses to make counterfeit percocet and other pills packed with illicit fentanyl that are flooding the local black market, Griffey stated. Griffey argued the counterfeit pills fuel the drug crisis and rising overdose rates in the region.
"These bogus pills look like the real deal down to the federal number imprinted on them and just one can be deadly," Griffey said.
The bill is named for Tyler Lee Yates, a close family friend of Griffey who died in January 2022 at 31 years old after taking a pill he believed was percocet.
"Tyler was the son of a firefighter I came up the ranks with. He was a good kid who was struggling to get relief from chronic pain he suffered after a motorcycle crash, and like many in similar situations — he turned to the black market," Griffey stated in a news release. “He was at a local casino and bought what he believed to be a legitimate percocet. Law enforcement would later view security camera footage and watch as Tyler died in that parking lot after taking one pill he believed to be a legitimate, federally-regulated pharmaceutical that was actually made with a pill press and full of unregulated amounts of one of the most addictive and deadly drugs on the planet — fentanyl."
According to Griffey, counterfeit pills, often called “blues,” have helped fuel the local and national overdose crisis in recent years.
"All this time we spend haggling over the Blake fix, we are missing the elephant in the room. People are dying. Our children are dying. It is our job as legislators to ensure public safety. I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the Senate will recognize that this crisis is one of the state's biggest issues and act accordingly," Griffey said. "I thank my good friend and colleague Rep. Leavitt for allowing me to join her effort to create something tangible we can leave with this session to save lives and show we are paying attention.”
Griffey argued HB 1209 should be considered a “first step” in addressing the issue of people knowingly trafficking pill presses.
"In Washington state, we like to be first, but we have completely dropped the ball on counterfeit fentanyl," Griffey said.
HB 1209 was approved unanimously by the state House on March 7 and received a hearing in the Senate Law and Justice Committee on March 16.
According to Griffey’s statement, the use of pill presses to make counterfeit medications has been used for some time. They first began being used to make counterfeit prescription opioids in the U.S. around 2015.
In 2019, a sampling by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of seized counterfeit tablets from across the country found 27% contained a lethal dose of fentanyl.
In 2022, the DEA reported six of every 10 pills sold illicitly were laced with potentially fatal doses of fentanyl.
A lethal dosage of fentanyl for a non-regular opioid user is 2 milligrams, roughly equal to a few grains of salt, and is much smaller than a lethal dose of heroin, which is 30 milligrams, according to the DEA.
There are a variety of laws currently in place around pill presses and pill press molds that are used to make fake pills look legitimate.
On the national level, it is illegal to have a mold intending to create a counterfeit pill, but pill presses themselves are legal. Federal law requires legitimate users of pill presses to self-report their possession, use or transfer of those devices.
The DEA and Customs and Border Protection must also approve any foreign importation of pill presses.
But according to a 2019 report from the DEA, traffickers circumvent the law by misrepresenting or intentionally mislabeling the devices or parts of the devices. Even when they are brought in officially, there is little to no regulatory oversight.
Only a small number of states have passed laws regarding pill presses, with previous efforts in Washington state having failed.
According to Griffey’s statement, many experts argue the increase in overdose deaths from fentanyl-filled counterfeit pills will continue without strong action at the state and federal levels, including stronger penalties for those trafficking the pills and using pill presses.
Last week, U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger reintroduced a bipartisan bill to crackdown on narcotics traffickers using illicit pill presses to manufacture counterfeit drugs. The bill has failed twice before.
Griffey represents the 35th Legislative District, which includes areas of Tenino and Rochester in South Thurston County.
