In southern Minnesota, “Rainbow” fentanyl was discovered for the first time last week during the execution of a search warrant.
Agents from the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force seized three M30 pills on September 16. Agents tested the pills in the field and discovered that they contained fentanyl. In the seizure on Friday, task force agents came into contact for the first time with the vividly colored pills that, according to Drug Enforcement Administration officials, can be mistaken for candy. The fentanyl pills that had previously been seized were all blue.
In late August, the DEA issued a public alert about multicolored fentanyl pills that were being marketed to younger age groups.
“When we talk to the public about how these blue pills are so dangerous and to stay away from these blue pills, now they’re coming in all kinds of different colors,” said Lt. Jeff Wersal, commander of the task force. “We just want to let them know that ‘hey, it’s here.’ The taskforce found some rainbow fentanyl pills, which means, if we found three of them, then there’s got to be tons more in the area and the state.”
Wersal advised parents to discuss with their children, friends, and loved ones the importance of never taking a pill unless a doctor has prescribed it. He claimed that it is currently unknown whether the fentanyl concentration in the rainbow pills is different.
“Those pills you gotta understand, whether they’re blue or yellow or orange, you don’t know how much fentanyl is in each pill,” Wersal said. “Each pill, one pill could have a milligram of fentanyl in it. … there’s no way of knowing if you’re the user, if you’re the buyer or if you’re the seller. You don’t know what’s in each pill.
Southern Minnesota has seen an increase in the quantity of fentanyl seizures. According to Wersal, 4,000 individual fentanyl pills have been discovered so far this year, compared to 12 individual pills discovered in 2021.
“I don’t think it’s gonna get better before it gets worse,” Wersal said. “But, hopefully it’s like any other drug. A lot of drugs come and go and people will realize that this stuff is too dangerous and it’s poisoning people. Hopefully we can curb the issue.”
