Buyers beware of fentanyl-laced vape pens

    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) -- The number of people vaping continues to rise, according to medical professionals. Now they want to make sure you know what is in your device. Around the country, there have been cases of fentanyl found inside a vape pen.

In September 2020, the DEA sent out a press release about a 2019 overdose in San Diego. According to the release, the victim had a fentanyl-laced vape pen.

"We are seeing an epidemic in terms of illicit substances," Mauricio Tohen, the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the University of New Mexico, said.

According to New Mexico lawmakers, in 2021, fentanyl claimed the lives of 574 people in the state.

"Sometimes you don't know what is in the substance," Tohen said. "So you might be told it's this substance, but it's actually something else."

According to the National Institute of Justice, many vaping devices can be modified to increase the dosage, making one laced with fentanyl potentially more deadly.

For those suffering from substance abuse, resources are available.

"We just recently opened up our crisis center," Adriann Barboa, the district three commissioner for Bernalillo County, said. "A no-stop turn-away place for folk experiencing mental health or substance abuse treatment."

The UNM Behavior Crisis Center opened two months ago on Marble Avenue.

"That's part of what it is," Barboa explained. "[We're] creating an ecosystem of care that just doesn't drop people off from one place to the next."

The latest numbers from the New Mexico Department of Health show 618 people died in 2022 because of a fentanyl overdose.