DEA: Candy colored fentanyl targeted toward children, young adults found in Ohio

Officials have confirmed that a new deadly drug called “Rainbow Fentanyl” is in Ohio.

The Drug Enforcement Agency said agents have seized the brightly colored pills or powder in Ohio and 17 other states.

“We have seized brightly-colored fentanyl in pill and powder form in Michigan and Ohio. Although no one color is more potent than others, this form of packaging or branding is concerning because the appeal it can have to an unsuspecting child,” DEA Detroit Division Specials Agent in Charge Orville Greene said. “Our agents and officers, working with state and local partners, are employing every resource in order to stop the trafficking of rainbow fentanyl and other illicit drugs in our region.”

>> RELATED: ‘Rainbow’ fentanyl warning: DEA says brightly colored pills, powder used to target young users

Information about the exact locations in Ohio where the drug has been found was not available.

According to the DEA, the drug is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, meaning just two milligrams of the drug is a deadly dose.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 108,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl were responsible for 66 percent of those deaths.

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