A warning has been issued to parents of a new trend among dealers trafficking fentanyl which is called rainbow ‘Fentanyl’.
According to officials, the brightly-coloured pills could be used to target children. These rainbow fentanyl pills have been seized in 18 states in August.
Here is everything we have gathered information about the Rainbow fentanyl:
What is Fentanyl?
It is a man-made opioid medication that was originally designed to function as an anesthetic in the 1960s.
According to Johnson-Arbor, it has since been developed into a prescription medication available in oral, nasal, and injectable formulations, as well as transdermal skin patches.
DEA and Fentanyl
According to the DEA:
- The colorful pills look like candy — an effort by drug cartels to appeal to kids and young adults.
- Fentanyl is currently the deadliest drug threat in the United States.
- In 2021 alone, 107,622 Americans died from a drug overdose — 66% of those deaths involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
How poisonous is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphineTrusted Source. “Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that can cause death in very small amounts and can be disguised in pills so people don’t know the pill contains the deadly drug,” said Dr. Danelle Fisher, MD, FAAP, pediatrician and Chair of Pediatrics at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.
Fentanyl is highly fat soluble, meaning it quickly moves from the bloodstream to the brain, causing rapid effects.
Is Fentanyl addictive?
The colorful pills are highly addictive and potentially deadly. Fentanyl is currently the deadliest drug threat in the United States and was responsible for 66% of overdose deaths in 2021.
