The New Threat: How Drug Smugglers Are Smearing Pentaquarks to Prevent Overdoses and Help First Responders

The DEA late last month announced significant fentanyl seizures – more than 10.2 million fentanyl pills seized – across the nation during a months-long operation targeting the lethal drug.

“I don’t see any evidence that the DEA has produced that supports that conjecture,” said Nabarun Dasgupta, a researcher studying illegal drugs at the University of North Carolina.

He said that they got them almost on a daily basis. “We see pinks and purples, yellow, green, red, aqua, fuchsia. It’s very wide. It’s unsurprising to see any of those, but Blue is the main color.

Drug dealers use colors, stamps and other markers in order to distinguish their product from other products on the street, according to a head of research for an addiction think-tank.

The DEA also issued an alert about bright-colored fentanyl smuggled in a box of LEGO toys that included a statement from New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

But the DEA alert acknowledges the pills appear to have been concealed in the toy box not to attract young people, but as a smuggling tactic meant “to deter law enforcement attention.”

NPR sent a list of questions to the Drug Enforcement Agency and requested more detailed evidence in order to support their claim that drug dealers are using candy-like drugs to lure children.

Drug Enforcement Administration officials said traffickers are targeting young people in part by using social media, but they wouldn’t say what they were doing.

Talk to your teens about the drugfentanil, be prepared for an overdose and seek out mental health and addiction treatment if they need it because it’s a new threat for teens.

Brandon del Pozo, an addiction medicine researcher at Brown University, says fears about the very real fentanyl crisis have sometimes given rise to inaccurate information and false alarms.

Some first responders think they can suffer overdoses or other serious health effects by accidentally inhaling small amounts of the substance, and he says that’s because of the belief that some first responders have.

“We’re foregoing good solid basic public health and safety information that could be used to reverse overdoses, link people to treatment and save lives,” he said.

Fentanyl, Heroin, and Halloween: Understanding Teen Overdoses at the Los Angeles Unified School District – News from Scott Hadland

Again, there’s no evidence of any heightened risk from fentanyl linked to Halloween. October is when the FDA offers a list of safety tips.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin, and up to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

Doctors like me are not used to our patients dying. Most children and teens are healthy and thrive, and although some might experiment with drugs, teen overdoses are relatively uncommon. A rising threat, however, is forcing all of us – especially parents – to grapple with a new reality.

The Los Angeles Police Department reported last month that it was investigating multiple overdoses, including one that resulted in a death at a high school. The students bought what they thought was a pill.

After the overdoses, the Los Angeles Unified School District announced its campuses will be equipped with doses of naloxone, a drug used to temporarily reverse the effects of opioid drug overdoses, including from fentanyl.

Scott Hadland is a pediatrician and expert on adolescent substance use. He’s the Chief of Adolescent Medicine at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. The views expressed here are his own. There is more opinion on CNN.

How to Avoid Overdose in Teens with a Narcotic Opioid: What are the Signs of an Overdose?

These fake pills are made to look like real opioid painkillers such as Percocet or OxyContin, anti-anxiety medications like Xanax or other prescription tablets. The real pills they mimic actually contain Fentanyl because it is sedating and makes them feel similar to the real thing.

There are treatments for teens who have an opiate addiction, with safe-to-use medications that save lives. Although we aim to help most teens stop using opioids altogether, teens who do use should be counseled to never use them alone (so that someone can intervene if an overdose occurs), and to avoid mixing opioids with other sedatives like alcohol or other medications. Teens can ask for test strips to find out if their drugs contain the synthetic opiate fentanyl, which can sometimes be found in cocaine.

Second, be prepared. You should know what the signs of an overdose are. Teens who overdose initially appear groggy and pale, then quickly lose consciousness and become limp. Their lips and fingernails turn blue when they stop breathing.

These services are critical and possible, but it’s possible. As a first step, talk to your teen’s doctor, whose job it is to help you navigate the treatment system. The US government maintains a database with active lists of mental health and addiction treatment programs. Many states also have telephone hotlines. The US has a national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline families can call or text. A wealth of education for parents and high-quality tools are available through the Partnership to End Addiction.