With Halloween only days away, public officials are sounding the alarm about the threat of drugs making their way into kids’ candy baskets.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody on Tuesday issued a warning to parents that fentanyl pills were being made to look like candy so that kids would consume them.
According to WTVT-TV in Tampa, Moody held a news conference at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in which she implored parents to take special care this All Hallows’ Eve.
“This could be the scariest Halloween in my lifetime,” she said.
“I have no doubt that the cartels are trying to purposefully target children at a younger and younger age to get them addicted, which will ensure consistent profits,” Moody said.
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The fear is that fentanyl smuggled in candy packaging could wind up in children’s hands as they go trick-or-treating.
While Florida has yet to spot these smuggling tactics, authorities in California have.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release last week that about 12,000 fentanyl pills were found in popular candy packaging during a Transportation Security Administration screening at Los Angeles International Airport.
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It said the drugs were found in boxes and bags of SweeTarts, Skittles and Whoppers.
That incident has sparked nationwide calls for parents to be extra vigilant about what their kids are bringing home on Halloween.
Fentanyl is a highly dangerous synthetic opioid, with the Drug Enforcement Administration saying that “one pill can kill.”
Along with the possibility of candy packaging, border agents also have encountered a new version of the drug that comes in rainbow colors.
This variety has been found in several states and has raised concerns that drug traffickers are making a concerted effort to target a younger demographic, according to CNN.
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