Follow Up: News & Stats To Hahn’s Proposal to Stock County Libraries With Fentanyl Antidote

Early this week, Random Lengths News published a story about a proposal to stock county libraries with naloxone, a life saving antidote to fentanyl poisoning. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid. This story is capturing much attention, so RLN is sharing further background to help inform our readers further on these concerns. Read below for recent alerts and statistical information.

Fentanyl Packaged in Candy

LOS ANGELES— LA County Sheriff’s Narcotics Bureau Detectives and Drug Enforcement Agency or DEA agents assigned to a task force at the Los Angeles International Airport seized approximately 12,000 suspected fentanyl pills on Oct. 19. 

The suspect attempted to go through TSA screening with several bags of candy and miscellaneous snacks with the intent of boarding a plane. However, it was discovered that inside the “Sweetarts”, “Skittles”, and “Whoppers” candy boxes were fentanyl pills and not candy.  

The suspect fled prior to being detained by law enforcement but has been identified and the investigation is on-going.

With Halloween approaching, parents need to make sure they are checking their kids’ candy and not allowing them to eat anything until it has been inspected by them. If you find anything in candy boxes that you believe might be narcotics, do not touch it and immediately notify your local law enforcement agency. 

Rainbow Fentanyl Identified As Growing Trend Among Youth

Council considers Hahn proposal to put antidote in county libraries

The California Department of Public Health or CDPH reported, in September, that fentanyl has been identified as a new and fast growing trend by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency or DEA. In response, Supervisor Janice Hahn, on Oct 17, proposed to make naloxone, the life-saving antidote to opioid poisoning, available in LA County Libraries. 

The CDPH California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard reported fentanyl is an extremely potent and dangerous synthetic opioid continues to be a major contributor to drug overdoses in California, including among youth.

• Emergency department visits related to non-fatal opioid overdoses in California’s youth ages 10-19 years more than tripled from 2018 (379 total) to 2020 (1,222 total).
• Opioid-related overdose deaths in California’s youth ages 10-19 years increased from 2018 (54 total) to 2020 (274 total), marking a 407 percent increase over two years, largely driven by fentanyl.
• Fentanyl-related overdose deaths in California’s youth ages 10-19 years increased from 2018 (36 total) to 2020 (261 total), a 625 percent increase.

Rainbow fentanyl can be found in many forms, including pills, powder and blocks that can resemble sidewalk chalk or candy. Any pill (regardless of its color, shape, or size) that does not come from a health care provider or pharmacist can contain fentanyl and can be deadly.

Naloxone is a life-saving medication used to reverse an opioid overdose. The Department of Health Care Services Naloxone Distribution Project offers free naloxone to qualified organizations, including schools and universities.