Pill press update: January through June 2025

Policy people became generally aware of pill presses with the rise of the opioid crisis: selling illegal fentanyl in powder form to people was one thing, but making counterfeit oxycodone pills with a pill press was much deadlier.

Illegal pill presses and molds continue to create the fake pills that kill thousands of Americans every year. PSM's research team tracks when law enforcement seizes them, when customs officers interdict them entering the country, when prosecutors charge people with their sale or usage, and when legislatures attempt to criminalize them.

PSM's first report on all-things-pill-press, covering January through June of 2025, is now available for download. Highlights include:

• International seizures tracked from customs records;
• Domestic seizures tracked through open source news coverage;
• Noteworthy prosecutions involving pill presses;
• Federal and state legislation governing pill press usage and sales; and
• Changes in Google's policies around pill press advertising and sales.

Read the report. The next report covering July-December 2025 will be published in January 2026.