According to CNN Health, “Fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing the nation, according to the DEA.”
The surge of use of fentanyl:
According to the CDC, “Deaths involving illicitly manufactured fentanyl are on the rise. Rates of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, which includes fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, increased over 56% from 2019 to 2020.” Pharmaceutical fentanyl is approved and typically used for cancer patients. Although, most fentanyl cases now in the US that have to do with deaths and overdose are linked to illegally-made fentanyl. Fentanyl is one of the cheapest drugs there is, so that makes it easier for people to get, make, and distribute. “…fentanyl is strong and cheap to produce, people who manufacture illegal drugs use fentanyl to make their drugs more powerful and less expensive to manufacture,” states the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Fentanyl at school:
On September 9th, 2022 a 13 year old student at Chipman Jr. High School brought 150 fentanyl pills disguised as Percocet to school.
A school supervisor checked the students bag because of an unrelated altercation the student had with another student. The school supervisor found the pills along with $300 dollars. The school supervisor was taken to the hospital because of the exposure to the pills.
It is unknown if any of the pills were given to any of the other students.
The student was charged with possession of a controlled substance for the purpose of sales and was taken to Juvenile Hall.
This is not the only incident like this that has happened at a Bakersfield school in the past few days. At North High School last week 3 students were confirmed to have overdosed but students and parents say it might have been up to a dozen. “On Thursday, Sasha Owens’ daughters were hospitalized after they experienced what doctors told them was an opioid overdose when they ate treats given to them at school,” according to Bakersfield Now.
The principal at North Highschool confirmed that students were using opioids at school last week. He has encouraged parents to come to the drug abuse and fentanyl use meeting.
“Rainbow Fentanyl” :
There is a type of fentanyl going around called “Rainbow Fentanyl ”.
The only difference it has from normal fentanyl is that it is colorful. The assortment of colors that these pills are made in makes them look like candies. This makes them a lot more dangerous. Now that they look like candies it will be easier for people to be tricked into eating them, especially younger children. “Rainbow fentanyl — fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes — is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in the August announcement.
