The meds ARE legit, look at the expiration date on the blister pack, it is current. I took 5 tabs at a shot and felt it, so I'm sure it had something to do with tolerance, or your body's chemical reaction rather than the meds being stale, etc. And I've been taking codeine for a long long time and have built up a relative tolerance. I have noticed that plain codeine does seem a little weaker than codeine with tylenol in general.