‘A Deliberate Effort By Drug Traffickers To Drive Addiction Among Kids’
UPDATE TUESDAY, MAY 9, 2023: The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) bulletin late last summer about "Rainbow Fentanyl" being used to target children sparked controversy. Several social media posts countered that dealers don't really try to sell to children, with "because kids don't have money" being a common refrain.
In an NPR report, a University of North Carolina researcher called the DEA warning "conjecture." Another researcher told NPR dealers use different colors and even logos "to distinguish their product from other products on the street."
The DEA did acknowledge that fake pills were being hidden in candy or toy boxes not necessarily to attract children but as a smuggling tactic meant "to deter law enforcement attention."
"Supposedly the dealers are using the different colors in some cases to destinguish the level of fentanyl potency in their pills," says Jackson County Drug Task Force Officer-In-Charger Dan Cummings. "The pinks supposedly have this much fentanyl and the yellows this much. But I don't really buy that.
"There are four things we can be pretty sure about: 1) dealers aren't being precise about how much fentanyl they are putting in their fake pills and other drugs; 2) these pills do look like candy and that appeals to kids; 3) social media is being used to broker drug sales and dealers don't care how old the person is they're communicating with through social media; and 4) maybe really young kids aren't buying directly from dealers but these pills are getting to them through friends or older siblings—or from the little kid finding the colorful pills their parents bought."
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2022
This is just evil.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a nationwide warning that drug cartels are now producing "rainbow fentanyl" in the hopes of driving up their sales of the highly addictive—and potentially deadly—synthetic opioid to children. The brightly colored fentanyl is being produced in multiple forms, including pills, powder, blocks that resemble sidewalk chalk and, according to the DEA, other variations "made to look like candy."
Not Seen By County Drug Task—Yet
This past month law enforcement agencies across 18 states began seizing rainbow fentanyl. As part of their ongoing investigations, the COMBAT-funded Jackson County Drug Task Force has not "seen these multi-colored pills," Officer-In-Charge Dan Cummings said.
But Cumming added ominously, "So far."
'A Deliberate Effort' To Target Kids & Young Adults
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram called rainbow fentanyl "a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults."
Fentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans 18 to 45, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced earlier this year. Just two milligrams of fentanyl—the equivalent of a 10- to 15-grain speck of salt—is a lethal dose.
The DEA stressed fentanly in any shape or color can be deadly, with drug dealers not being precise about dosage levels: "Despite claims that certain colors may be more potent than others, there is no indication through DEA's laboratory testing that this is the case. Every color, shape and size of fentanyl should be considered extremely dangerous."
- DEA Bulletin: Brightly-Colored Fentanyl Used To Target Young Americans