These ‘rainbow’ pills are in Tri-Cities now. Police worry they’re a ‘significant risk’ to kids
Rainbow-colored fentanyl has made its way to the Tri-Cities for the first time — and police are concerned with Halloween so close.
While some harm reduction experts and toxicologists are skeptical that it targets kids and that it could end up in Halloween candy bags, police agencies in the Tri-Cities are nervous about the drugs.
“We want the public to be aware these new multi-colored pills are in our area and pose a significant risk to children who may find them attractive,” Kennewick police said a news release.
A recent Tri-City Metro Drug Task Force bust in Kennewick turned up over 14,000 fentanyl pills and about half are multi-colored pills, known as “rainbow fentanyl.”
The deadly opioid is well-known to be adaptable. People have used it to replace heroin and other opioids because its potency means using less of it to create the same effect. But that also makes it more deadly, causing some fatal overdoses with just one pill.
One way it has been sold is as small blue pills that resemble oxycodone and are often referred to as “Mexis.”
But that has changed in recent months. Drug Enforcement Administration agents first noticed brightly-colored pills, powders and blocks of the drug being sold in 26 states in August.
DEA Administrator Anne Millgram has called it a direct attempt to market the drug to children and young adults nationwide.
The deadly opioid is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rates of overdose deaths from the drug have been on the rise in recent years.
The CDC reported that 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses and two-thirds of those have been linked to synthetic opioids including fentanyl.
And fentanyl has surpassed methamphetamine for accidental overdose deaths in Benton County.
Of the 35 overdoses last year, fentanyl was responsible for 19. That is more than double the number caused by methamphetamine.
Fentanyl has become the drug of choice among many users, according to the Kennewick police release.
The Metro Drug Task Force includes detectives from Kennewick, Pasco, Richland and West Richland police departments and the Benton and Franklin sheriff’s offices.
The task force investigates mid-level criminal organizations linked to narcotics and weapon trafficking.
The most recent information available is from 2020 when the task force found 93,000 fentanyl pills, which was up from about 13,000 the year before.
If people know anyone suffering from a substance abuse disorder, they can reach out to the Washington Recovery Help Line by calling 866-789-1511.
Tri-Cities fentanyl bust
The Tri-City Metro Drug Task Force received a tip Oct. 20 that Amy Lynn Loza had a large amount of fentanyl, according to an affidavit of probable cause from police.
Police got a warrant to search her Richland home on Hood Avenue.
While it’s unclear what officers found at that house, they talked with Loza and she reportedly admitted to recently buying thousands of fentanyl pills and dividing them up to into smaller amounts, said court documents.
She allegedly said there were about 8,000 pills stashed in her bedroom on the 1800 block of West 31st Avenue in Kennewick. Benton County Assessor online records show Loza owns the home in Richland, but not the one in Kennewick.
Benton County Deputy Prosecutor Julie Long said in court last week that investigators eventually found 14,300 fentanyl pills — and at least half of them were the multi-colored “rainbow” fentanyl.
They also seized 1.5 pounds of meth and a gun, show court documents.
Loza was also charged in February with distributing fentanyl after she allegedly sold the drug to a police informant.
This story was originally published October 28, 2022 at 11:51 AM.