The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is seeing a nationwide spike in fentanyl-related mass-overdose events involving three or more overdoses occurring close in time at the same location.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Just two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equal to 10-15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose. Without laboratory testing, there is no way to know how much fentanyl is concentrated in a pill or powder.
Manitou Springs officers recently responded to an overdose where they located the pills pictured below. These pills were stamped with 834 on one side and TEVA on the other, which is counterfeit Clonazepam.
Fentanyl pills are often stamped with M30, which is Oxycodone. These counterfeit pills have been found in Manitou Springs and have caused overdose and even death. “Rainbow fentanyl - fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes - is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.
For more information, visit the DEA’s One Pill Can Kill
Public Awareness Campaign website.