LARGO, Md. (WAVY) – 10 On Your Side recently had a rare opportunity to see a forensic Drug Enforcement Agency laboratory near Washington, D.C. where federal agents bring the illegal and deadly drugs they seize.

It’s where highly-skilled chemists break down what’s in the pills, powder and other substances that are crossing our borders and entering our bloodstreams. Some of them look like candy, and that’s not by accident. It’s also where they find out that today’s victories may have a short shelf life.

A chemist who’s an expert at determining what illegal substances are lurking in whatever contraband DEA agents seize brings out an evidence bag similar to an oversized Ziploc with about 1,000 pills that look like Skittles or Sweet Tarts.

“They look more appealing, particularly to young people when they look like candy,” said Special Agent in Charge Jared Forget. “So that’s something that we’re very much concerned about.”

Careful to handle them under one of the lab’s many fume hoods with surgical gloves and a mask, she removes about 10 of the colorful pills.

“We know six in ten have enough fentanyl to kill somebody,” said supervisory chemist Jaclyn Brown.

Such a small amount of fentanyl is capable of such a large amount of damage. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Brown said you need only about what you can fit on the tip of a pencil – about 2 milligrams – for a deadly amount.

Another batch with an estimated 14,000 pills from a recent bust contain the combination of fentanyl and xylazine. You wouldn’t ever want to take xylazine unless you were a horse or a cow.
It’s a large-animal tranquilizer, and the combination known as “tranq” set off alarms at the DEA several months ago.

“Fentanyl alone is dangerous, but now you’re adding something that has similar if not stronger properties to enhance the dangerous effects,” Brown said.

What’s worse – an overdose from tranq will not respond to the rescue drug Naloxone, because xylazine is not an opioid. Once the experts in this lab identify the latest and deadliest drug combos – another new one is always on the horizon.

“It’s very frustrating,” Brown says.

The “M-30” markings on illegal pills disguise them as legitimate oxycodone. DEA says variation in sizes, colors, even speckling are often dead giveaways. And forget about attention to detail when it comes to safety.

“Illicit people, we know they’re not testing anything. We know that there are some that have way more fentanyl than others per pill so there’s no quality control,” Brown said.

“That’s heavily affected the Hampton Roads area and unfortunately, it’s led to drug poisonings and overdoses,” said Forget, whose territory includes all of Virginia and several other states. He said most of the illicit drugs come to Hampton Roads through two main Mexican cartels — Jalisco and Sinaloa, which are near popular tourist destinations including Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan — and they run their social media like a Fortune 500 company.

“They’re marketing and advertising on different apps, such as Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, where they’re constantly targeting young people to trick them to do these drugs,” Forget said.

Calling them “street drugs” is a misnomer, with suppliers often using mail and delivery services to send them directly to users.

In our March special “Opioids – What Every Family Needs to Know,” Diana Mitchell talked about losing her daughter Brooke. Before her death, Brooke had told her mother about parties where everyone put pills in a bowl and then took one.

“It’s incredibly dangerous,” Brown said. “Essentially you’re taking your life in your own hands. I don’t think it’s worth the momentary fun to consider that 10 of you are there with pills and six of you could hit the floor. You could die.”

The DEA said drug overdose and poisoning is now the leading cause of death for people ages 18 to 45.