Rainbow Fentanyl Drives New Warnings About Deadliest Drug in the United States

Rainbow fentanyl US Drug Enforcement Administration fentanyl drug addiction

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Sep 26, 09:49 am

Photo: (Photo : DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)

A new wave of concern has spread among parents across the United States over rainbow fentanyl, with the multi-colored pills, powders, and blocks, which look similar to candy or sidewalk chalk, being sold and used in several states.

They potentially pose a threat to young people, with the emergence of this new product just one small part of the more significant ongoing opioid crisis. Rainbow fentanyl, which comes in bright colors, is a powerful synthetic opioid. That makes the drug extremely addictive and potentially deadly if someone overdoses.

Rainbow fentanyl may appeal to the youth or fool them into thinking that it is safe, but experts maintain that illicit fentanyl has been hiding in what appears to be other products for a long time now.

Rainbow fentanyl has been around for a few years now

Joseph Palamar, an associate professor in the Department of Population Health at New York University Langone Health, told CNN in an email that colored fentanyl pills have been around for a few years. Palamar, who has studied trends in illicit fentanyl, said that they have typically been blue pills labeled as "M30" to counterfeit oxycodone, a much weaker opioid.

Palamar thinks the big difference people are concerned about with rainbow fentanyl is accidental ingestion. He said that people are worried that their kids will take one of these pills thinking they are another drug or some candy.

He does not think the color of the pills significantly increases the danger to people who don't use fentanyl. There is always a possibility, however, of someone who uses fentanyl leaving their pills around in the reach of kids.

Palamar added that they need to keep in mind that these pills cost money, so people are not going to be throwing them on the ground for kids to find, and he does not think people will be giving these pills out as Halloween candy.

Rainbow fentanyl driving addiction amongst young adults and children

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a warning in August, advising the American public of this alarming emerging trend of colorful fentanyl available across the country.

The agency said that the DEA and its law enforcement partners seized fentanyl pills and brightly colored fentanyl across 18 states. According to the DEA, fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing the United States.

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram announced that rainbow fentanyl is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst children and young adults.

Some universities and colleges have cautioned students about the presence and dangers of rainbow fentanyl since then. The California Department of Public Health has also alerted K-12 school administrators about rainbow fentanyl being a new trend in the state.