Halloween Hoax: Experts Say Rainbow Fentanyl As Candy Is Not A Serious Threat

Drug education experts say that rainbow fentanyl disguised as Halloween candy is not a credible trick-or-treating threat to children.

Amid rising panic about fentanyl resembling candy, Dr. Caleb Banta-Green, director of the University of Washington's Center for Community-Engaged Drug Education, told USA Today the goal for a drug dealer is to make a profit. They are not giving their inventory to children for free as Halloween candy.

The fear of fentanyl disguised as rainbow-colored candy developed after a series of drug busts in recent weeks. One of the largest busts was in Manhattan last month when DEA agents found over 15,000 fentanyl pills resembling colorful oxycodone in Lego containers on Sept. 28.

DEA Special Agent Frank Tarentino said in a statement that 40% of the pills analyzed from the drug bust contained a lethal dose.

"This operation removed the equivalent of 500,000 lethal doses of fentanyl from circulation in the Empire State," he said.

Multicolored fentanyl is likely an attempt to conceal illicit drug products from inspection agents, not to entice kids while trick-or-treating. However, when the Drug Enforcement Administration identified a new marketing scheme by Mexican cartels to "sell highly addictive and potentially deadly fentanyl made to look like candy to children and young people," this created panic.

Joel Best, a Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware, wants parents to know that in numerous studies he conducted, there has never been "any evidence that a child has ever been killed or seriously injured by a contaminated treat picked up in the course of trick-or-treating."

The FDA recommends children only accept commercially wrapped candy and advises parents to examine wrappers for signs of tampering, such as unusual appearance, discoloration, tiny pinholes, or tears.