Illegal online pharmacies are increasingly selling counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine to customers thinking they’re purchasing prescription drugs from legitimate sources, warned the U.

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a public health warning about prescription medications sold by online pharmacies. The public health agency said some online pharmacies could be selling prescription drugs tainted with the potent opioid fentanyl, which can be deadly.

The DEA's most recent National Drug Threat Assessment found the purity level of illicit fentanyl in the U.S. drug market has increased and the amount of fentanyl found in counterfeit prescription pills has increased, making the nation's top drug threat even more dangerous.

The search for more affordable medications might cause people to access dangerous counterfeit drugs sold as genuine products by online pharmacies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Wednesday.

The online pharmacies are hurting legitimate national and local pharmacies like Lewis Drug…and they’re killing some people with unregulated counterfeit pills. Griffin says it’s critical to deal with legitimate companies.

In just a few clicks, you can find Adderall alternatives and popular weight loss drugs deeply discounted. Now, the CDC and the FDA are warning Americans about the risks of buying counterfeit prescription meds from online illegal pharmacies. "It's a big problem," said Sherri Cherman, PharmD, CEO and Founder of Elements Pharmacy in Studio City.

Federal prosecutors say a network of illegal drug sellers packaged potentially deadly synthetic opioids into pills disguised as common prescription drugs and sold millions of them through fake online drugstores.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Friday warned of an increase in illegal online pharmacies selling counterfeit pills made with fentanyl and methamphetamine. “As Americans increasingly turn to online pharmacies to purchase necessary medications,