Parents have been warned over the serious consequences of the dangers of fentanyl being discovered in candy packaging in the US.
The drug crisis has worsened in the US in recent months as court documents have recently revealed more than 15,000 fentanyl pills disguised as candy were seized in Connecticut.
As a result, former DEA Special Operations Director Derek Maltz has warned parents to educate themselves on the crisis - which he described as a 'mass poisoning' - and has warned if they don't, the US will face 'losing a future generation'.
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Have a listen:
Maltz said the deadly rainbow-coloured pills are being marketed to children in a clever way and in the case in Connecticut, he said the harmful drugs were found in the sweets Skittles and Nerd packaging.
Speaking on Fox & Friends, Maltz said: "We’re seeing an unprecedented amount of kids dying as young as 13 years old.
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"And we know now, the DEA says, that 40 percent of the pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.
The former DEA director told host Ainsley Earhardt that cartels are taking advantage of children as they 'may not know better', saying they use teens' obsession with the internet by selling the drugs on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter.
Ahead of Halloween, Maltz encouraged parents to seek educational materials from the DEA surrounding these potentially deadly substances.
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He continued: "They [parents] have to be proactive. It’s deadly fentanyl, and it’s flooding our streets like we’ve never seen. Stay away from it because it’s poison. It really is dangerous."
Maltz has also advised parents to check the contents of any candy packaging before they give it to their kids and to notify the police if any drugs are found.
He believes more should be done in schools to tackle the crisis, and has urged President Joe Biden to address that with a matter of urgency.
In the interview, Maltz concluded: "This is not a drug issue, it’s a mass poisoning. We're losing a future generation - 300 a day."
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The US has saw a massive increase synthetic opioid deaths in recent years, with fentanyl being the biggest contributing factor. From 6,000 dying in the US in 2015, that jumped to more than 63,000 deaths in 2021.
Recently, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said cracking down on the crisis in the US has been a priority.
She said: "The most urgent threat to our communities, our kids, and our families are the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG who are mass producing and supplying the fentanyl that is poisoning and killing Americans.
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"The Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG are ruthless, criminal organizations that use deception and treachery to drive addiction with complete disregard for human life.
"To save American lives, the DEA is relentlessly focused on defeating the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG by degrading their operations to make it impossible for them to do business."
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week
Callum Jones