Rainbow fentanyl won't be a threat to kids on Halloween, experts say

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DEA official warns of 'rainbow fentanyl' dangers 'all over social media'

DEA administrator Anne Milgram joined 'America's Newsroom' to discuss the growing concern surrounding 'rainbow fentanyl' and how parents can be proactive in discussing the concern with their children.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has been sounding alarm bells about the threat of rainbow fentanyl ahead of Halloween, but some experts are casting doubt that the fatal drug will be a threat to kids attempting to enjoy the holiday.

"I don't see any evidence that the DEA has produced that supports that conjecture," Nabarun Dasgupta, a researcher studying illegal drugs at the University of North Carolina, told NPR in a report Tuesday.

Dasgupta's comment comes as the DEA and police departments across the country have warned of the spread of rainbow fentanyl, deadly pills that they say could easily be confused for candy or legitimate prescription drugs. 

"It looks like candy," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in an interview with NBC News. "In fact, some of the drug traffickers have nicknamed it Sweet Tarts, Skittles."

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Mexican cartels are mass-producing fentanyl pills in rainbow colors. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA))

The DEA has warned that the colorful pills are designed to attract children, sparking fears that the drug will put kids in danger on Halloween.

But Dasgupta, whose lab tests illegal opioid pills from around the country, said brightly colored pills are not a new trend.

"We get them almost on a daily basis," Dasgupta said. "We see pinks and purples, yellow, green, red, aqua, fuchsia. It's a pretty wide palette. Blue is the predominant color, but it's not surprising to see any of those."

That hasn't stopped fears that the pills could end up in bags of Halloween candy, something one expert said isn't the purpose of the colorful pills.

Approximately 15,000 candy-colored fentanyl pills were seized in Manhattan from a LEGO box. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA))

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Dr. Sheila Vakharia, who is the head of the Drug Policy Alliance, said dealers use the colors to "distinguish their product from other products on the street."

Other experts questioned why dealers would be motivated to target children, arguing that kids lack the financial resources to be consistent customers and that penalties for dealing drugs to children are much more severe.

Joseph Palamar, an associate professor in the Department of Population Health at New York University Langone Medical Center, told Fox News Digital last week that the drugs are also likely too expensive to give away.

"I’ve always found this concern to be exaggerated. I’m sure this does happen sometimes, but it is unlikely. Even if fentanyl pills were only a few dollars each, most people would likely find them too expensive to give to kids on Halloween as a sick joke," Palamar told Fox News Digital last week.

DEA announces largest fentanyl seizure to date in New York City after colorful pills were found hidden in a LEGO box. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA))

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Meanwhile, Tanya Tilghman, a member of Mothers Against Drug Addiction & Deaths, believes that the threat fentanyl poses to children is real, but argued they are more likely to end up in the hands of young children because of teenagers in the household.

"Let's say you have a teenager and let's say they're out buying drugs, and they buy some fentanyl pills," Tilghman told Fox News Digital last week. "They look like candy. They bring it home. They have a younger brother or sister. Parents have no idea about what's going on. So you've got these little pills that have like Hello Kitties on them. And a little child sees that the teen leaves these pills out, maybe forgets to put them away. Their little brother or sister sees it. They think it's candy. They take it, overdose and die. I think that's pretty serious."