DEA Not Warning Of Fentanyl In Halloween Candy, Despite Coroner's Post

JOLIET, IL — Although there is no evidence that local drug dealers or members of the Mexican cartel are planning to give away free fentanyl disguised as rainbow Sweetarts this Halloween, Will County Coroner Laurie Summers took to her agency's Facebook page to spread that narrative on Monday night.

Contrary to the information, Summers posted on her Facebook page on Monday — an act that sparked more than 2,000 Facebook shares. No major news stations were reporting that drug dealers are planning to use Halloween to give small children dressed in Halloween customers addictive and deadly drugs disguised as rainbow-colored candies.

"Major news stations are reporting this as well as the DEA," the Will County Coroner announced on Facebook. "This post is meant to make the public aware of this means to target and attract younger crowds to try illicit drugs which are poisoning our society. We are only asking parents to thoroughly check their kids candy this Halloween.

"Watch your kids' candy this year. The new thing is rainbow fentanyl. Looks like sweet tarts," wrote Summers, a Democrat from Crete, now in her first four-year term as the Will County Coroner after previously serving as a supervisor on the Will County Board.

The DEA did issue a warning in August about cartels potentially using candy-colored pills and powders to sell fentanyl to young drug users and children, but that warning was not connected to Halloween candy or drugs given away for free.

In 2020, Summers succeeded Patrick O'Neil, a Lockport Democrat, who had served seven terms in office.

Will Halloween Be A Problem?

On Monday, Patch reported there was no reason to believe that the spread of the rainbow-colored Fentanyl would mean problems across America for trick-or-treaters on Halloween, which is still more than a month away.

Fentanyl pills cost money, which one health expert said reduces the likelihood that drug traffickers will toss them on the ground for kids to find.

“I don’t think people will be giving these pills out as Halloween candy,” Joseph Palamar, an associate professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Health and an expert on illicit fentanyl trends, told CNN in an email.

Drug traffickers have been hiding fentanyl in products for years, Palamar told CNN.

"I think the big difference people are concerned about is with regard to accidental ingestion. People are worried that their kids will take one of these pills thinking they’re another drug or even thinking they’re some sort of candy," Palamar told CNN. "I don’t think the color of the pills greatly increases the danger to people who don’t use fentanyl, but there is always a possibility of someone who uses fentanyl leaving their pills around in the reach of children."

On Monday, Newsweek published a news article headlined, "Chuck Schumer Fuels 'Rainbow Fentanyl' Halloween Fears."

"This is fentanyl, this is a Sweetart: you tell me the difference," U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-New York, said while holding up pictures of the addictive pills and the tangy sweet, according to a New York Post report.

"Halloween is coming ... this is really worrisome and really dangerous. These drug traffickers are doubling down on their bet to hook young people," Schumer also said during his press conference back in July.

"And unfortunately, they're having success. We cannot let this happen. So, I am going to make sure that in the federal budget that we're voting on this week is $290 million to fight the scourge of fentanyl and rainbow fentanyl."

In a disturbing trend, 109,000 people in the United States died of a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending March 2022. That compares to 76,000 drug overdose deaths for the same period ending in March 2020 — a 44 percent increase from before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fentanyl A Real Problem In Will County

Here in Will County, the Coroner's Office has kept track of all documented drug overdose for several years.

According to a DEA press release issued back on Aug. 30:

"Brightly-colored fentanyl is being seized in multiple forms, including pills, powder, and blocks that resemble sidewalk chalk. 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," the DEA said.

Federal drug enforcement officials said so-called rainbow fentanyl "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." But while candy-colored pills could be used to target young buyers, the DEA did not indicate they fear drug dealers might slip the drug into unsuspecting trick-or-treaters' bags.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing this country. According to the CDC, 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, with 66 percent of those deaths related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Drug poisonings are the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. Fentanyl available in the United States is primarily supplied by two criminal drug networks, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

According to the Will County Coroner's website, there had been 95 confirmed drug overdose deaths across Will County as of Sept. 20.

Last year, Summers reported a total of 150 overdose deaths in Will County and in 2020, there were 125 overdose fatalities.

Related Patch coverage:

'Rainbow Fentanyl': 5 Things To Know, Including How Kids Are Targeted

Laurie Summers: Will Co. Coroner 2020 Election Candidate