Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, and more teens are overdosing on it.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that we use to treat cases of severe pain. It has a prominent role in pain management of cancer patients, in particular. It can be given intravenously and is also prescribed as a lozenge, tablet, spray or transdermal patch. The danger of fentanyl is its potency.
Public health and DEA officials have recently been sounding the alarm about rainbow-colored fentanyl pills — basically illicit fentanyl pills given different colors. Some officials believe that drug cartels are manufacturing "rainbow fentanyl" to target young people. They have claimed cartels are trying to increase profits through addiction to fentanyl pills that more closely resemble Skittles. However, harm reduction experts and toxicologists are skeptical.
MDMA and other club drugs have featured bright colors for decades. The rainbow-colored fentanyl pills confiscated by the DEA are cleared marked with "M" and "30" – making them readily identifiable as pills, raising the question if adolescents would actually mistake them for candy. And it's unlikely teens have the discretionary income to afford the drug anyway.
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