LaGRANGE, Ga. (WRBL) – Troup County officials are warning locals against buying street drugs. An increase of overdoses in the State of Georgia are being credited to prescription drugs like Xanax and Percocet being laced with Fentanyl.

Law enforcement has traced the counterfeit pills back to Richmond County. Public health officials urge people to find out where their drugs come from before consuming them.

“Try to find out exactly where it’s coming from. If you’re going to take something you want to know exactly where it’s coming from to the best of your knowledge. Let somebody know what you’re taking in case it has something in it that you weren’t aware of,” said the Public Information Officer from District 4 Public Health, Hayla Folden. “Have naloxone or have someone around you have it so that if you do get a hold of something bad you do have a way to come back from this.”

The counterfeit pills have been found in Troup County and surrounding counties.

The LaGrange Police Department uses Narcan, a specific brand of naloxone to counteract the effects of opioid overdoses in users.

“All officers of the LaGrange Police Department checkout AED’s, automated external defibrillator, each morning before going to the road. Attached to that AED is Narcan, when they respond to a possible overdose they bring that inside to the scene. They make an assessment based on their training to determine whether or not that person is likely overdosed on an opioid,” said Lieutenant for the LaGrange Police Department responsible for the Criminal Investigations Section, Dale Strickland.

Folden urges people to order a naloxone kit from gaprevention.org if someone or anyone they know is at risk for an opioid overdose.