Rainbow fentanyl poses risk everywhere

In Evansville, Indiana, two children found counterfeit fentanyl pills in their home Sept. 22 after a resident decided to store the pills in a bedroom, according to the United States Department of Justice. One of the children died and the other was hospitalized. 

Illicit fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be 100 times stronger than morphine, is being put into vibrant-colored pills [rainbow fentanyl] to encourage use. 

The unfortunate byproduct of rainbow fentanyl being bright is that it looks like candy, said Brian McNeal, a public information officer for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Children can ingest rainbow fentanyl, thinking it’s candy, when they are actually getting a lethal dose of fentanyl. 

Fentanyl has become more of a problem in Portage County this past year.

In Portage County, 33 overdose deaths where fentanyl has been involved have been reported in 2022 and another 12 are pending [can’t confirm the overdose was due to fentanyl until the toxicology report comes back], said Dr. Dean DePerro, the coroner of Portage County. This puts Portage County slightly ahead of last year at this point in time. 

Although rainbow fentanyl has not been reported in Portage County, it is spreading rapidly across the United States.

“I think what’s happening is they are trying to make it more appealing to take a pill because if it’s brightly colored, it removes some of the stigma,” McNeal said. “There are drug users who will not put a needle in their arm or [are] reluctant to smoke something, but taking a pill is more palatable and a brightly colored pill even more so.”

Fentanyl is being put into counterfeit prescription pills to make the pills produce a stronger high. 

“The biggest threat is fentanyl being pressed into fake pills,” McNeal said. “Being passed off as legitimate prescriptions, such as Percocet, Xanax, Adderall, hydrocodone, oxycodone.”

A lethal dose of fentanyl is two milligrams, according to the DEA. To put this in perspective, two milligrams of powdered fentanyl can fit on the tip of a sharpened pencil. 

“These drug dealers and these manufacturers, they’ll mix in some fentanyl into a batch of something, and there’s going to be varying amounts in each pill or each bindle [a package containing illegal drugs],” said Michael Lewis, an administrative lieutenant at the Kent Police Department. “If you get a particular batch, bindle or pill that has a really high concentration of fentanyl, it’s really going to increase the risk of having a fatal reaction.”

Two out of five counterfeit pills containing fentanyl have a lethal dose, according to the DEA.

Pills are not the only drugs that can contain fentanyl. 

“Now we’re seeing fentanyl being mixed in almost anything, even marijuana,” Lewis said. “It’s mixed in with heroin, cocaine [and] weed.”

There is a process to how drugs containing fentanyl are manufactured.

The chemicals used to produce fentanyl are manufactured in China, McNeal said. The chemicals are then shipped to Mexico, where the cartels produce fentanyl and use it to lace cocaine and methamphetamine and press it into pills. 

Illicit fentanyl is popular because it is cheap to produce. It is cheap to produce because it doesn’t require a growing season, like marijuana, and can be made in a lab. 

Fentanyl can be absorbed into the body via skin contact from a fentanyl patch, injection, inhalation, ingestion and oral exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Signs of a fentanyl overdose include a loss of consciousness, choking sounds, weak, slow or no breathing, cold and pale skin and small pupils, according to the CDC. 

“They can stop breathing, and that’s how people die of opioid overdoses,” DePerro said. “Their lungs stop working, their diaphragm stops working.”

Naloxone is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Naloxone restores normal breathing if someone has weak, slow or no breathing. 

“I think some people have gotten a little bit more comfortable since Narcan [a brand of naloxone] is so much more readily available and so prevalent,” Lewis said. “When people using drugs have Narcan with them, it gives them a feeling of safety and backup. It’s very, very frightening how far people are willing to push it.”

First responders carry naloxone, and people can buy naloxone from pharmacies without a prescription. Many organizations donate naloxone to addicted drug users at risk of overdosing on opioids. 

The increase in fentanyl-related deaths and how easy it is to overdose on fentanyl has caused police officers to take extra precautions when searching vehicles that may contain illicit drugs. 

“In the past few years we’ve really upgraded the protection of gloves that we wear,” Lewis said. “There are times where officers would wear masks, or detectives who are investigating that type of thing [a car containing illicit drugs] would wear masks.”

Fentanyl can only be absorbed into the skin if the sticky side or gel of a fentanyl patch touches the skin. When in powder and liquid form, fentanyl can’t be absorbed into the skin. 

There is one way people can avoid overdosing on fentanyl.

“[The] easiest way to avoid fentanyl is to not even experiment with illicit drugs, said Tricia Knoles, an administrative sergeant for Kent State University Police Services. “Any type of illicit drug could be laced with fentanyl.”

Tweet: Bright colored pills laced with fentanyl are dangerous for Portage County residents. #danger #drugs #fentanyl

I don’t have Twitter, so I could not link this tweet somewhere.