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The trend “appears to be a new method used by drug cartels to sell highly addictive and potentially deadly fentanyl made to look like candy to children and young people,” the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned.
This month alone, the agency said, law enforcers at various levels have seized brightly covered fentanyl power and pills in 18 states. Some of it even comes in blocks that resemble sidewalk chalk, federal authorities said.
Former New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram, an East Brunswick native who’s now the DEA administrator, called the varying colors, shapes and sizes “a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults.”
Most of it is being trafficked into the United States by the Sinaloa Jalisco New Generation cartels from Mexico, Milgram said.
Testing in DEA labs has found that the various colors have no relation to potential potency, her office said.
“Every color, shape, and size of fentanyl should be considered extremely dangerous,” the DEA said in its warning.
The deadly synthetic opioid -- which authorities say is 50 times more potent than heroin and up to 100 times more powerful than morphine – was originally developed for pain management treatment of cancer patients.
Now it’s often mixed in with heroin by dealers without the users' knowledge.
Here's the scary part: Two milligrams of fentanyl (equal to roughly a dozen grains of salt) is considered a lethal dose, according to the DEA.
As a result, it remains the country’s deadliest drug threat, responsible for hundreds of fatal overdoses a day across the United States.
Last year, 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses – up nearly 15% from the previous year. Two-thirds of the ODs were tied to synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
With Halloween not all that far off, knowing the facts about fentanyl is critical, federal authorities say.
For instance, it isn’t possible to overdose from fentanyl simply by touching it.
SEE: Can You Overdose From Touching Fentanyl? Of Course Not, Authorities Say
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