SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rainbow fentanyl pills have been found in Sacramento County, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office.
Law enforcement recently made the first seizure of rainbow fentanyl pills in the Sacramento region. These colorful pills look like candies meant to attract kids and teens, District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said in a statement.
According to a news release, 99% of oxycodone M30 pills that are seized and tested in Sacramento County contain fentanyl.
Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Thien Ho says there has been a decrease in fentanyl deaths so far this year.
"In 2021 we had 116 people die from fentanyl-related deaths — poisoning. That's more than all the gun-related homicides in the county during that same time period. Now this year, that number has gone down to 62 fentanyl-related deaths, but 62 is still 62 too many," Ho said.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned the public in August of an "emerging trend" of colorful fentanyl across the country. Since Aug. 2022, the DEA and law enforcement seized rainbow fentanyl in 26 states.
Rainbow fentanyl has also been found in Placer County. In August, the Placer County District Attorney's Office said there has been a 450% increase in fentanyl deaths between 2018-2021 in Placer County.
Why is fentanyl so dangerous?
According to the CDC, from April 2020 to April 2021, more than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in the United States, which is an increase of around 28% from the same period the prior year.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50-100x stronger than morphine, according to the CDC. Most of the recent cases of fentanyl overdoses are linked to illicitly manufactured fentanyl as opposed to pharmaceutical fentanyl.
Find more information about fentanyl at Sacramento's 1 Pill Can Kill website.
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