UPMC doctor shares thoughts on rainbow fentanyl during Halloween season
During the Halloween season, you see candy everywhere.
Doctors at UPMC are worried children may come across and mistake a potentially life-threatening drug like rainbow fentanyl, for a sweet treat.
“[It’s] brightly-colored fentanyl products in an array of colors and it’s in a variety of shapes, too,” described Dr. Anthony Pizon, UPMC’s chief of medical toxicology.
While the drug may look like candy, it’s not to be taken lightly.
“One pill could be enough to kill a child. Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin,” said Pizon.
The Drug Enforcement Agency warns the drug is intentionally being disguised in a colorful form to target children and get them hooked on the addictive drug from an early age.
While Pizon does not expect to see adults handing out the drug on Halloween, he’s concerned kids may find it at home, not know what it is, and give it to their friends thinking it’s candy.
“If something like this is sitting on the counter, or easily accessible, I can easily see a child getting into that,” said Pizon.
Pizon also urges all families to get Naloxone or Narcan and keep it on hand to reverse the effects of fentanyl in case of accidental exposure.
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