Tipsheet

Is 'Rainbow Fentanyl' a Threat to Kids on Halloween?

Mia Cathell
Mia Cathell  |  October 14, 2022 6:00 PM

President Joe Biden's sympathizers in liberal academia and the establishment media apparatus are politicizing a very real concern among parents this Halloween season: rainbow-colored fentanyl pills disguised as alluring sweet treats.

CLAIM: Rolling Stone published an Oct. 7 piece portraying the "rainbow fentanyl" phenomenon—something that would spook any concerned parent—as a GOP "scare tactic" to drive home the Republican Party's "war on drugs-electoral messaging."

Last week's Rolling Stone article, titled "No Treats, Only Tricks: Republicans Try to Ruin Halloween With Fake Rainbow Fentanyl Threat," claims in its abstract subheading that GOP senators are "trying to convince parents that the cartels are in the house down the block, handing out synthetic opioids to kids." Noting that Halloween falls just 8 days before the November midterm elections, Rolling Stone's story cites a public service announcement released by several Republican lawmakers in the Senate, warning parents on video that Mexican drug cartels have begun targeting children with the fentanyl camouflaged as candy. 

Of course, Rolling Stone reporters sources the so-called experts™ we've been hearing so much about since science became a new religion during the COVID-19 pandemic: "However, experts, who at this point are exasperated at the 'poisoned Halloween candy' myth's yearly resurgence, are again reiterating that drug dealers are not handing out narcotics to children en masse."

Rolling Stone's writers reasoned that vibrant colors are a way for producers to distinguish illicit drugs from that of other manufacturers as unique product that's identifiable to existing customers, "not a way to market them to children." (It's an idea that appeared in the iconic TV show "Breaking Bad," where everyone's favorite fictional drug kingpin Walter White a.k.a. Heisenberg used methylamine instead of Sudafed to make meth. His brand earned the street name "blue sky" due to its coloration.)

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One of these experts, the National Harm Reduction Coalition's resource associate Mariah Francis, told Rolling Stone that the PSA's portrayal is a misrepresentation of how illicit drugs circulate in communities. "Drug markets are based off profit gain and profit margins," Francis said, stating that drug dealers "are not making money giving free fentanyl tablets […] to small children."

In a previous fact-check, Francis said that branding product by color has been a marketing ploy for decades. "We saw it with MDMA; we see it in club drugs. And it's actually kind of embarrassing because the DEA is really just late, late to the party."

Francis told Rolling Stone the "idea that because [the pills] are colorful means that [cartels] must be trying to force fentanyl or ply children or their Halloween candy is markedly ridiculous." She argued that policymakers should be "focused on encouraging parents and schools to have honest an open conversations about the presence of drugs and how to stay safe if they chose to use them," according to Rolling Stone's paraphrasing. "Drugs are not going anywhere," Francis said. "It is time for us to evolve."

"Experts agree there is no significant risk of children being gifted opioids in their Halloween baskets this year," the Rolling Stone article reads, adding that Francis said that parents "should be absolutely terrified at the people at the DEA, and on Capitol Hill..."

Rolling Stone's article admits that the "effects of illegal fentanyl on the catastrophic rise in opioid overdoses and deaths are undeniable," but stresses in a counter-point that the number of opioid deaths amongst young individuals under the age of 15, presumably the core demographic of trick-or-treaters, is "a minuscule fraction of deaths and overdoses as a whole."

The "only thing kids should expect in their Halloween haul is a well-deserved sugar high," the Rolling Stone piece concludes.

Drug policy "experts" contacted by NPR also "agree" that "there's no new fentanyl threat this Halloween" and don't believe Mexican drug cartels and street dealers have launched a campaign targeting children. Dr. Sheila Vakharia, head of research for an addiction think-tank called the Drug Policy Alliance, concurred with how Francis described the marketing scheme dealers employ using colors, stamps, and other markers to differentiate product. "I don't see any evidence that the DEA has produced that supports that conjecture," commented University of North Carolina illegal drug researcher Nabarun Dasgupta.

FACTS: In late August, the Drug Enforcement Agency issued a press release warning of "brightly-colored fentanyl used to target young Americans" and advising the public of "an alarming emerging trend of colorful fentanyl available across the United States."

At that point in time, the DEA and its law enforcement partners seized brightly-colored fentanyl, which appears as pills, powder, and blocks that resemble sidewalk chalk, across 26 states. The pattern 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 DEA statement says.

Rainbow fentanyl is "a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults,” said DEA administrator Anne Milgram in the Aug. 30 release. Milgram told NBC News in an interview: "They're doing this to get new users, to appeal to younger users. We're finding it all over the social media platforms. Rainbow pills are all over." Sometimes drug traffickers even nickname the products "Sweet Tarts" and "Skittles" after real colorful candy, the NBC News article reports.

The bright colors are a departure from the typical way that the drug is often packaged: in pills made to look like prescription medicines. "So we believe that they're doing this to get new users, to appeal to younger users," Milgram said.

Milgram added that the drug cartels are also following children on social media to get access to them. "We know without question is that most young people are aware that there are people dealing drugs on social media, not everyone, but particularly when you start to talk to high school kids, they have an awareness," Milgram told NBC News. However, Milgram said the DEA has seen nothing that indicates that the pills will be related to the holiday or that drug traffickers are putting it into Halloween candy.

NPR sent a list of questions to the DEA, asking for detailed evidence supporting the claim drug dealers are using candy-like fentanyl to hook children. DEA officials said investigations have shown traffickers are targeting youth through social media. "College, high school, and even middle school-aged kids might encounter illegal drug sales online," according to the statement. "New drug trends, like fake pills and brightly colored fentanyl, are marketing tactics used to appeal to various customers."

129 fentanyl investigations were linked to popular social media platforms, including Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and TikTok (all apps that children use), according to a DEA press release from Sept. 27 announcing the results of a nationwide enforcement operation that spanned from May to September and led to significant fentanyl seizures across the country.

In late September, the DEA seized 15,000 candy-colored fentanyl pills in Manhattan, according to an Oct. 4 press release. One suspect was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into a fentanyl trafficking organization. The fentanyl pills, in various colors, were destined for distribution throughout New York City and were concealed in a LEGO box "to deter law enforcement attention." The fentanyl pills were also imprinted with "M" and "30" to resemble "30 M," oxycodone hydrochloride 30 mg pills. 

The significant seizure, the largest to date in the city, signals "more widespread distribution of these dangerous colorful pills," the DEA says, noting that the case highlights the most recent cartel tactics to attract the public while deceiving them about lethal drugs. "The Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel are mass-producing fentanyl pills in rainbow colors to not only brand their products, but use colors and dyes to mimic candy and/or legitimate prescription drugs," according to the DEA.

"Rainbow fentanyl is a clear and present danger, and it is here in New York City," said DEA special agent in charge Frank Tarentino, one of the many DEA agents who have first-hand experience on the ground both at the border and in major cities apprehending the drug cartels that are responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl that is being trafficked into the U.S.

But a massive cache of candy-colored fentanyl eclipses this New York seizure. Just last week, two were charged following another major seizure of approximately 30,000 rainbow fentanyl pills of assorted colors from a drug stash location in the Brox.

The probe uncovered a trove of rainbow fentanyl pills worth up to $6 million on the street, said special narcotics prosecutor Bridget G. Brennan. "Fentanyl pills are masquerading in many different forms, and our city is flooded with them. Any street drug, whether it looks like a legitimate pharmaceutical or like candy, may be fentanyl, and it may be lethal," Brennan said. Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly remarked, "Rainbow fentanyl is the latest threat we face in our fight against the opioid epidemic that sadly continues to ravage our communities, a multi-colored poison specifically designed to attract younger users."

Near the beginning of last month, a 13-year-old middle school student in Califronia was arrested for bringing 150 fentanyl pills to school, causing an employee, a campus supervisor who came in contact with the drugs, to overdose due to the exposure.

RATING: The claim that rainbow fentanyl is a threat to kids on Halloween is MOSTLY TRUE. While the DEA reportedly determined that it's not specifically an expected danger on this annual holiday, rainbow fentanyl, which once was concealed in a child's toy, is evidently a growing threat year-round to young and new users. Social media is playing a crucial role in connecting the drugs cartels with suspectible youth ranging anywhere from middle schoolers to college-age students, the DEA found.

Those skeptical of the DEA's warning are painting similar alarms as "fear-mongering about poisoned candy," a regurgitation of a contemporary legend about tained Halloween hauls that's simply suburban folklore. But those heeding the DEA's advisory as a precautionary tale ahead of Halloween night feel it's better to be safe than sorry. We've always cautioned against kids taking candy from strangers. Checking your children's Halloween goodies is a preventative measure in the generations-old parental safety handbook to protect our youth from creepers out there intending to do more than just spook some unsuspecting kids.

For example, the Food and Drug Administration offers a list of safety tips every October, recommending that kids only accept candy in commercial wrapping and urging parents to examine sweets for any suspicious signs of tampering such as discoloration.

Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equal to 10-15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose. Keep in mind that the naysayers dismissing public disquiet as the whispers of conspiratorial right-wing worry warts are the same crisis actors still forcing their own healthy children to wear masks throughout the school day in (*checks calendar*) Fall 2023. But they'll discard worries about this powerful opioid, a product of the Biden administration's border crisis.