The Drug Enforcement Administration released a statement Aug. 30 warning about rainbow-colored fentanyl being used to target younger generations in America. 

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid labeled as a narcotic in the medical world that is used to treat severe pain. However, overdoses from synthetic opioids like fentanyl cause more than 150 deaths per day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

According to the DEA, “fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing this country.”

The drug race has just begun in Colorado as police are trying to keep up with the fentanyl caseload facing the state. 

“Fentanyl is almost like a daily occurrence of us being involved with somebody that either has fentanyl or has used fentanyl,” Chief of Police Michael Cochran of the Craig Police Department said in a statement to Steamboat Radio.

With Halloween right around the corner, fentanyl is on the public’s radar, as some of the pills look very similar to popular candies like Smarties or gummy bears. 

For safety reasons, many politicians have encouraged parents to remain on high alert and to double-check their children’s candy. 

To fight this outbreak, congressmen Doug Lamborn and Joe Neguse of Colorado introduced a bipartisan bill, the Protecting Kids from Fentanyl Act, in September. 

“The Protecting Kids from Fentanyl Act is a bipartisan solution that will empower our K-12 schools to tackle this emergency,” Neguse said in a statement posted on his website. “Everyone — especially our children — deserve(s) to live in a safe community, and this bill helps achieve that goal.”

This act will allow schools to purchase naloxone, train school workers and essential student caretakers on how to administer naloxone as well as provide students with awareness classes on addiction. 

“Naloxone is a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration … designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose,” according to a statement from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “It is an opioid antagonist — meaning that it binds to opioid receptors and can reverse and block the effects of other opioids, such as heroin, morphine and oxycodone.”

Naloxone is the generic name for the brand Narcan. The drug can be administered via needle or a nasal spray. The Colorado State University Health Network has Narcan training and provides students with Narcan as needed. 

Anyone struggling with addiction can reach out to SAMHSA’s national helpline at 800-662-4357.