This year, the “trick” in trick or treat was taken a little too literally. 

During this Halloween season, there was a visible change in the atmosphere. It seems as if the days for trick or treating have almost come to an end. Parents specifically, have been very cautious as to the candy that is being passed out this Halloween and are very strict on the candies their children have been given. Their cautious behavior stems from an outbreak of cases where people have recently been dying due to eating high doses of Fentanyl without even knowing it. 

Fentanyl is a powerful pain medication. It is an opioid, like morphine, codeine, oxycodone and methadone. Fentanyl is most often prescribed as a slow-release patch to people with long-term, severe pain. When used in this way, it can be very effective and safe. Fentanyl is much stronger than most other opioids—up to 100 times stronger than morphine—and is very dangerous if misused. Even a small amount can cause an overdose and death.

Where exactly is this drug coming from?

Street fentanyl can come from two sources: illegal drug labs and patches that have been sold by or stolen from people they were prescribed to.

Following at least seven fentanyl-related overdoses in the Los Angeles Unified School District and one death in Fullerton, Sunny Hills administrators hold concerns and implement additional safety precautions over the possibility of such cases arising in Orange County.

Fentanyl is sold as a powder or a pill, or is mixed into drugs such as heroin or cocaine. This type of fentanyl is usually sold as another substance, so people swallow, snort, or inject it without realizing. Many overdoses have occurred because people did not know that what they were taking was contaminated with fentanyl. It is often impossible to tell if a powder or pill contains fentanyl. You can’t see it, smell it, or taste it.

What makes this drug dangerous is that it looks just like candy. Many have said that the pill looks just like Skittles, Smarties, Sweet Tarts, and more.

Two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal depending on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage. Because the majority of people who

are out trick or treating are young children, it is easier for fentanyl to “kick in” and lead to death.

Because of this scary reality, parents have advised their children not to go out. Most people have resorted to, instead of going out trick or treating, they do a “trunk” or treat. It is a safer, enclosed way to trick or treat.