Fear of 'rainbow fentanyl' unfounded, but overdose deaths on the rise in St. Joseph County

The latest in a long line of Halloween-related scares, law enforcement officials around the county are cautioning parents about “rainbow fentanyl” possibly showing up in their children's hauls of Halloween candy.

Concerns over the pills began with a DEA announcement in late August which claimed the multi-colored candy-like substance was an attempt by drug cartels to market fentanyl to children. Experts, however, say there’s no concrete evidence of fentanyl pills appearing in Halloween candy and that focusing on rainbow fentanyl takes attention away from the more important issue of opioid usage as overdose deaths continue to rise in St. Joseph County.

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“I think in this particular instance, the DEA is very mistaken about what rainbow fentanyl is and why it looks like that,” said Adam Wandt, an assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who studies fentanyl trafficking.

Wandt said his research leads him to believe the different colored pills are meant to act as a warning to users that they are fentanyl and not regular oxycodone. Though the bright colors may entice some children, that's not the intent of drug manufacturers.

St. Joseph County Sheriff Bill Redman said he’s concerned about the possibility of illicit drugs in Michiana given federal officials recently intercepted a large shipment of fentanyl allegedly headed for South Bend. However, Redman also acknowledged he is not aware of any instances where rainbow fentanyl, or other harmful substances, have appeared in Halloween candy locally.

And while rainbow fentanyl grabs headlines, health workers hope that craze doesn’t overshadow more pervasive problems with opioid overdoses.

“It’s not specific to Halloween at all,” said Brooke Marshall, the director of addiction services at Oaklawn.

Fentanyl on the rise

According to the coroner’s office, 2021 was the deadliest year in recent memory with 97 overdose deaths, surpassing the previous high of 83 in 2020. So far this year, 74 St. Joseph County residents have died from overdoses, a grim statistic Marshall and others attribute to the increased prevalence of fentanyl in most street drugs.

“We saw fentanyl in large amounts prior to the pandemic, but not as widespread as what we see today,” Marshall said. “I never saw fentanyl in marijuana. You saw fentanyl periodically in cocaine, not at the rates we see it now. It’s much more widespread.”

The recent perverseness of fentanyl is due to a number of factors, experts say, with the decreased supply of heroin from out of the country giving rise to the cheaper and more potent opioid. In addition to being cheaper to manufacture, fentanyl is easier to smuggle into the U.S. and and is more addictive than more naturally occurring substances.

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Those factors combine to form a dangerous trend with fentanyl increasingly appearing in drugs like Xanax, ecstasy, Percocet and Adderall, which young people — who do not have an opioid tolerance — are more likely to experiment with.

“We’re not just talking about 20-somethings that are experimenting with drugs. We’re talking about it with kids who thought that they got a Xanax or an Adderall and they were poisoned,” said Alicia Wells, the director of communications at Allendale Treatment near Fort Wayne.

“Not everyone who dies from an overdose is an addict. That’s a huge shift from 10 years ago,” she said.

Fighting overdoses

While the flood of fentanyl is the biggest factor in rising overdoses, COVID-19 and social distancing guidelines derailed recovery and treatment efforts that had seen some success. Before the pandemic, Oaklawn had begun a program where “recovery coaches” would responded to overdoses at local emergency rooms and offered immediate services to opioid users.

That shut down during the pandemic but is starting up again, Marshall said, while normal interactions, like in-person visits from family and friends will hopefully help more recovery opioid users. Wells added that the pandemic spawned new apps that help opioid users connect virtually, but that desire to connect in-person remains. That human connection is part of the reason Wells put together Recover Michiana Fest, which had its third annual gathering at Howard Park in September.

“What inspires me to keep going when the numbers keep rising is that if we touch one person, that’s one life and that’s what matters," Wells said.

Health officials have also made a push over the past two or three years to “flood the community” with Narcan, the drug that can reverse an opioid overdose.

Wells and Marshall said awareness about the availability of Narcan is one of the biggest ways to combat the rise in overdoses and praised the St. Joseph County health and police departments for promoting the fentanyl antidote.

Police installed a Narcan vending machine inside the St. Joseph County Jail, which Redman says has distributed 2,000 doses of Narcan since December.

“I think that has worked out very well. We will never know how many potential lives were saved because not every overdose is reported to the police or the health department,” said Redman.

Marshall added that Oaklawn holds Narcan education classes the third Wednesday of each month

Halloween safety

While there have been no documented instances of rainbow fentanyl in St. Joseph County, that doesn’t mean safety isn’t a concern once trick-or-treating starts.

Officials encouraged parents to check candy stashes for treats that don’t look properly wrapped or seem suspicious, but an even more pressing concern for parents on Halloween is traffic safety. Data from the National Transportation Board shows Halloween is by far the most dangerous day of the year for crashes involving children and so alert driving is key, Redman said.

“Kids are going to be less likely to be paying attention, because they’re going to be running from house to house, darting across the street. Please, please make sure you’re completely focused on driving,” Redman said.

Overdose deaths by year:

2022 (as of Oct. 25): 74

2021: 97

2020: 83

2019: 35

2018: 62

2017: 71

For recovery help, call Oaklawn's mobile opioid response team at 574-537-2700.

Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Rainbow fentanyl won't be in halloween candy but overdoses on rise