Pill Press Resources

Pill Press Threat

Drug traffickers use pill presses to press fentanyl into pills and punches and dies to imprint markings and logos onto those pills, producing pills that look like legitimate prescription medication — like oxycodone, Xanax, and Adderall — when those pills actually contain fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other deadly drugs.

In 2025, the Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 47 million fentanyl-laced fake pills and nearly 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder. DEA laboratory testing currently indicates that 5 out of 10 pills contain a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl.

Counterfeit Pills and Pill Press Equipment

Tableting machines and encapsulating machines are not directly regulated within the closed system of distribution created by the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and do not require registration. Unlike the registration requirements in the CSA for persons who manufacture and distribute list I chemicals and controlled substances, there is no such registration requirement in the CSA for persons possessing or transacting tableting and encapsulating machines.

Nonetheless, the CSA requires regulated persons which are manufacturers, distributors, importers, exporters or brokers or traders for an international transaction of machines to keep a record and report each regulated transaction (distribution, importation, or exportation of a machine).

This video highlights the alarming use of dangerous and potential deadly substances like illicit fentanyl, methamphetamine, xylazine, and nitazenes by Foreign Terrorist Organizations, cartels, and drug trafficking organizations to make counterfeit pills. These pills are manufactured in illicit labs, thousands at a time, by pill presses, and critical parts that are not required to have serial numbers therefore making them very hard to track. This is made even worse because the pills manufactured in these illicit labs may contain a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl or other substances. Between 2024 and 2025, the DEA seized more than 111 million counterfeit pills. Proposals offered by this Administration, and members of Congress seek to require serialization, record-keeping, and reporting to the Attorney General, and penalties for non-compliance. This step is crucial to helping combat the production of deadly counterfeit pills and safeguarding public health.

United States Drug Enforcement Administration