Drug Safety: Don’t Follow the Rainbow

BLUF: Be aware of rainbow fentanyl—colorful, candy-like pills, powder and blocks—and avoid it at all costs.


Photo courtesy of DEA

One cautionary word: Fentanyl.

It’s the deadliest drug threat facing this country. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, with 66 percent of those deaths related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. In fact, drug poisonings are the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equal to 10-15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose. 

The deadly drug appears in various forms. Law enforcement has seized fentanyl in pills, powder and blocks that look like sidewalk chalk. The latest version of fentanyl is especially colorful, resembling candy. It’s called rainbow and experts believe that this fentanyl is specially designed to appeal to kids and young adults. But every color, shape and size of fentanyl should be considered extremely dangerous because it is.

For more details, visit the Drug Enforcement Agency’s webpage about rainbow fentanyl HERE.

Download a fentanyl fact sheet HERE.

Also see the CDC’s fentanyl FAQ HERE.