PORT ANGELES – The Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team, or OPNET, has issued multiple warnings over the years about the dangers of fentanyl, and recent alarming overdose statistics are reason for even more concern.
Today, OPNET asked us to help get the word out about information they’ve received from multiple agencies, including the DEA, of an alarming new trend. Agencies in 18 states as near as Oregon report seizing brightly colored fentanyl pills, sometimes referred to as “rainbow fentanyl”, as well as some that resemble sidewalk chalk.
They say drug cartels are constantly looking for ways to get new users addicted and this appears to be a way to entice younger people.
Although OPNET has not encountered any multicolored fentanyl, they believe it’s only a matter of time before it makes its way to in our area as it filters northward from Mexico.
OPNET encourages parents to have open communication with their children about the dangers of illicit drug use. Further information and parent resources may be located at dea.gov/fentanylawareness.
The DEA’s full public warning can be viewed at https://www.dea.gov/press[1]releases/2022/08/30/dea-warns-brightly-colored-fentanyl-used-target-young-americans.