MD Sheriff Warns Of Fentanyl Risk At Halloween, Expert Questions Link

MARYLAND — A sheriff in Maryland cautioned parents to inspect candy on Halloween following a federal warning about colored fentanyl pills that could be mistaken as candy, but a Delaware professor says there is no hard link between the dangerous opiate and kids' candy.

Earlier this month, the Drug Enforcement Administration warned of the trend of colorful fentanyl available nationwide; DEA and police agencies have seized brightly-colored fentanyl and fentanyl pills in 26 states. Dubbed “rainbow fentanyl,” the trend appears to be a new method used by Mexican drug cartels to sell highly addictive and potentially deadly fentanyl made to look like candy to children and young people, the agency said.

“Rainbow fentanyl — fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes — is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram in a news release.

• Related: 5 Things To Know About Rainbow Fentanyl

Reports of fentanyl pills resembling brightly colored candy have been popping up across the nation since the beginning of this year, said Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler in a Facebook post. Rainbow fentanyl, as it is called, is no less deadly than normal fentanyl despite its non-threatening appearance.

"Don’t forget your yearly inspection of your child’s Halloween candy," Gahler said.

A link between children and rainbow fentanyl appears to be theoretical, part of urban myths about razor blades in apples and cannabis-infused gummy bears, Joel Best, a University of Delaware professor who studies such contemporary legends, told The Washington Post.

Best has yet to find a confirmed incident of a child being seriously injured or killed from contaminated trick-or-treat candy since he began compiling data on the topic in the mid-1980s, the newspaper said.

In a Sept. 28 appearance on FOX News, Milgram said fentanyl is a grave threat to communities and DEA officers in the last four months seized 36 million lethal doses of the drug. But, she said there has not been any credible connection to Halloween candy.

"We have not seen any connection to Halloween," Milgram said on FOX. "What we do see is social media. We see rainbow pills, a new tactic being used by the cartels, and here's what we worry about. We have middle schoolers and high schoolers who are dying of fentanyl poisoning. We have 12-year-olds, 13-year-olds, 14-year-olds who are dying."

Every color, shape and size of fentanyl should be considered extremely dangerous, authorities said.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equal to 10-15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose. Without laboratory testing, there is no way to know how much fentanyl is concentrated in a pill or powder.

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.

Anyone who encounters fentanyl in any form should not handle it and should call 911 immediately.

Recognizing the signs of opioid overdose can save a life. Here are some things to look for:

Additional resources for parents and the community can be found on DEA's Fentanyl Awareness page.