Thousands of ‘rainbow fentanyl’ pills resembling candy seized across US
Thousands of rainbow-colored fentanyl pills that resemble candy have been confiscated this week across the country, according to authorities — who warned that the drugs could be part of a marketing scheme targeting youngsters.
More than 15,000 of the candy-looking pills were discovered strapped to someone’s leg at the Nogales Port of Entry in Arizona on Wednesday, Customs and Border Protection said.
“This could be the start of a trend with Transnational Criminal Organizations targeting younger users,” port director Michael W. Humphries cautioned.
Humphries said it was the second day in a row that pills “with the appearance of candy” were discovered. Customs agents previously confiscated 250,000 rainbow fentanyl pills, as well as 11 pounds of heroin and 10 pounds of methamphetamine.
Also on Wednesday, Oregon deputies reported seizing 4 grams of powdered “rainbow fentanyl” from a home in Portland, along with stolen guns and other drugs including meth and heroin.
Authorities warned that young children could potentially mistake the lethal powdered substance for sidewalk chalk because of its color.
“The public needs to be aware of the rising use of powdered fentanyl,” Special Investigation Unit Sgt. Matt Ferguson said.
“We believe this is going to be the new trend seen on the streets of Portland.”
Jennifer Lofland, a field intelligence manager for the DEA Washington division, also confirmed that the pills have been confiscated in and around the DC metro area for over a year.
“My biggest concern, and I think the biggest concern of DEA nationwide, is that the pills seem to be marketed specifically to a younger age group,” Lofland told FOX5.
With school starting over the next few weeks, Lofland urged parents to talk to their kids about never accepting pills unless they are prescribed by a doctor.
“Some of the multi-colored pills that we’ve been testing in our labs recently, particularly a recent batch that appeared to be children’s chewable vitamins, were tested by our lab as contained both fentanyl and methamphetamine,” she explained.
“And so that’s just an added layer of danger.”
The proliferation of rainbow fentanyl in US cities comes just months after CDC statistics confirmed the substance was one of the leading causes of nationwide overdose deaths.
In 2021, there were 71,000 overdoses with fentanyl and synthetic opioids, up 23% from the previous year.