More and more people are dying every day because of the synthetic narcotic fentanyl, and it’s not only on the street corners anymore; it’s right at your doorway.
The authorities claim that drug gangs are using social media and brightly colored pressed pills, such as rainbow and tie-dye fentanyl, to appeal to young people.
New Yorkers are understandably worried about the spread of Fentanyl this winter. Fentanyl’s deadly dose is just 2 milligrams, which is about the same as 10 grains of salt.
“I can’t believe how much fentanyl powder and tablets we’ve been able to confiscate so far.
We’re grabbing more and more every week and every month, “the DEA’s top man in New York, Frank Tarentino, stated.
Tarentino claims that drug cartels are targeting teenagers via social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook, despite the DEA’s best efforts to prevent this.
According to his interview with CBS2’s Jennifer Bisram, “Rainbow fentanyl is another variant of the fentanyl-laced bogus prescription tablets that we’re seeing across the country, and it really is a marketing ploy.”
All opioids in New York City are sent to the DEA lab for analysis.
According to law enforcement, drug traffickers are now dyeing fentanyl to make it more visually appealing to potential buyers.
Agents from the federal government recently confiscated 19,000 rainbow fentanyl pills.
In addition, “speckled” or tie-dye fentanyl tablets have been spotted. Lab director for the DEA’s Northeast division Tom Blackwell confirms that the levels of toxicity are consistent across samples.
About 24,000 fentanyl tablets are analyzed every week,” he claimed. Six out of every ten tablets include a dose of fentanyl high enough to kill.
The agents claim that fentanyl is being smuggled into the United States from nations such as Mexico. “Some of us have seen them in suitcases with rails.
These have been smuggled in under the guise of batteries, real batteries. Perfumes, shampoos, and other beauty products that “According to Blackwell.
Regular users, those who use it in groups, and newcomers are all falling victim to it.
Among the many faces of fentanyl, 21-year-old Garrett Venza is a prominent example. Six years ago, on Thanksgiving, his father, John Garrett, tragically lost him.
“OK, going to bed. Love you, he says. The last words were “I love you,” and that was all we spoke to each other, “As Garrett put it.
“I discovered him on the floor of his bedroom, dead from an overdose.”
Garrett oversees Outreach, a rehabilitation clinic for alcoholics and addicts with branches in New York City’s boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Long Island.
It is dedicated to the health and well-being of adolescents. He lamented, “It was an odd twist of fate that I couldn’t save my own son.”
Still, he credits his dedication to supporting other families with keeping his son’s legacy alive. “He was a great kid with a big heart.
Seriously, everyone adored him, “Says Garrett. According to him, the number of teenagers dying from drug overdoses at his Long Island facility has increased recently.
The Bronx has the most drug overdose deaths and seizures among the five boroughs.
Tarentino said that federal agents “getting out into the community and teaching and bringing the information to the community, to the caretakers, to the educators so that they realize what this situation is all about.”
Source: CBS News
