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'Rainbow' fentanyl an increasing concern

Last year, a record number of fentanyl poisonings were recorded in the U.S. The DEA said those rainbow colored pills could make things even worse.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The DEA continues to warn parents of the deadly consequences of pills laced with fentanyl, particularly the rainbow fentanyl that has been increasingly found in the U.S., including here in the Coastal Bend. 

Last year, a record number of fentanyl poisonings were recorded in the U.S. The DEA said those rainbow colored pills, that may look like candy to children, could make things even worse. 

Illicitly manufactured fentanyl is “often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency, which makes drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous,” the CDC says.  

RELATED: Arrest made last week as rainbow fentanyl was found in Sinton

More than 70 percent of overdose deaths are due to opioid use. 

"What is happening, it is kind of becoming to an epidemic proportion," Dr. Salim Surani said. "In 2018, we had a 21,000 deaths. Now in 2021, it is close to 110,000 deaths... it is very concerning."

The best way to protect your kids, Surani said, is by having open conversations about the dangers associated with fentanyl. 

"You have to be open with the kids," Surani said. "We talk to kids about a lot of the issues, what are good and what are bad, so you have to, as parents, make a clear-cut difference that these things are out in the market."

RELATED: Cartel busts and social media stings lead to the seizure of 36 million lethal doses of fentanyl by the DEA

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