"Because this has been a relatively new phenomenon regarding the rainbow fentanyl and as Halloween is so close, parents need to be particularly concerned about what their children are ingesting for Halloween, because it has been found in Nerds candy packaging as well as Skittles," says Lora Ries, director of The Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center. (The Daily Signal is Heritage's multimedia news organization)

Fentanyl, a highly lethal synthetic opioid, has plagued communities throughout the United States. Just recently, roughly 300,000 "rainbow fentanyl" pills and more than 20 pounds of powdered fentanyl were found in the Bronx, the US Drug Enforcement Administration reported.

"[Parents] need to talk to their kids, as best they can age appropriately, to look out for rainbow-colored candy and two, parents themselves should be checking packaging," Ries advises. (Screengrab image: "rainbow" fentanyl via DEA.gov)

Ries joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" to talk about rainbow fentanyl, the ongoing crisis at the southern border, and what much of the media is missing.

Below are a few excerpts from this interview, Click Here to listen or read the full transcript.

...Aschieris: I want to first talk about rainbow fentanyl. Halloween is just about two weeks away and I've seen different news stories warning parents about this rainbow fentanyl. First and foremost, what is it? And what makes it different from "regular fentanyl"?

Ries: So, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that we're seeing more and more in this country. And it is extremely lethal. About three grains of salt, the equivalent of that, can kill a person. And it has become the No. 1 killer of young people ages 18 to 45 in our country. Last year, over 107,000 people in the US died from drug overdoses, most of which was from synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

And now in addition to—fentanyl will typically come in pill form, it can be in powder form, it can be given to someone as 100% fentanyl. Often it is mixed with other compounds or drugs and so many people don't know that they are taking it. But now we're starting to see it come in colored form, or rainbow form. Again, that can be in powder or block or almost chalk form, so it can look like sidewalk chalk and rainbow pills. And those look like the candy SweeTarts. (Screengrab image: fentanyl blocks via DEA.gov)

And because this has been a relatively new phenomenon regarding the rainbow fentanyl, and as Halloween is so close, parents need to be particularly concerned about what their children are ingesting for Halloween because it has been found in Nerds candy packaging as well as Skittles.

Aschieris: And I know that they also found it last week in New York City in a Lego box, which, just seeing the images of that was crazy. I mean, where is it coming from primarily, at least the rainbow fentanyl itself?

Ries: Well, fentanyl generally is being put together in Mexico. The precursor ingredients are largely coming from China, but then they're being mixed in Mexico, and then brought across our very open southern border with Mexico. And this is no different...

...Aschieris: I just want to ask one last question about the rainbow fentanyl before we move on. With Halloween coming up, what are some tips for parents to be able to spot it? As you said, it's being put into Nerds boxes or even Skittles. What's your advice for parents in terms of being able to basically be that interception between their child and potentially consuming fentanyl?

Ries: They need to talk to their kids as best they can age appropriately to look out for rainbow-colored candy and two, parents themselves should be checking packaging. Has the package, does it appear like it was tampered with? And then open it up and see what are the contents. If it's anything that's looking like pills, just throw that out. So far, chocolate has been safe, so maybe stick to chocolate... Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Click Here to listen or read the full transcript of this interview.

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