WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration is advising the public of an alarming emerging trend of colorful fentanyl available across the United States. In August 2022, DEA and our law enforcement partners began seizing brightly-colored fentanyl and fentanyl pills in 18 states. Dubbed “rainbow fentanyl” in the media, this trend appears to be a new method used by drug cartels to sell highly addictive and potentially deadly fentanyl made to look like candy to children and young people.
“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. “The men and women of the DEA are relentlessly working to stop the trafficking of rainbow fentanyl and defeat the Mexican drug cartels that are responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl that is being trafficked in the United States.”
Brightly-colored fentanyl is being seized in multiple forms, including pills, powder, and blocks that resembles sidewalk chalk. Despite claims that certain colors may be more potent than others, there is no indication through DEA’s laboratory testing that this is the case. Every color, shape, and size of fentanyl should be considered extremely dangerous.
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.
Fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing this country. According to the CDC, 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, with 66 percent of those deaths related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Drug poisonings are the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. Fentanyl available in the United States is primarily supplied by two criminal drug networks, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
In September 2021, DEA launched the One Pill Can Kill Public Awareness Campaign to educate Americans about the dangers of fake pills. Additional resources for parents and the community can be found on DEA's Fentanyl Awareness page.
If you encounter fentanyl in any form, do not handle it and call 911 immediately.
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The Texas Department of Insurance's Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) released the 2021 Health Care Provider Performance Based Oversight (PBO) assessment. For 2021, health care providers were assessed on their performance in one of two categories:
DWC reviewed 96 health care providers for the timeliness of filing the DWC Form-069, Report of Medical Evaluation (100% weight) with the following results: 66 had scores placing them in the high performer tier, 15 were in the average performer tier, and 15 had scores placing them in the poor performer tier.
DWC reviewed 91 health care providers for the completeness of the DWC Form-073, Work Status Report (30% weight) and documentation supporting how the injured employee’s medical condition prevents them from returning to (any) work as reported on the DWC Form-073, Work Status Report (70% weight) with the following results: 45 had scores placing them in the high performer tier, 38 were in the average performer tier, and 8 had scores placing them in the poor performer tier.The 2021 PBO assessment results and a list of the health care providers that were reviewed are posted on the TDI website.
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