An Ohio police department reported that a bizarre candy bar tested positive for Methamphetamine/Fentanyl during the Halloween festivities.
According to the Byesville Police Department, the candy bar was discovered in a kid's goodie bag during last night's Byesville trick-or-treating.
WTRF reported that the candy bar had not been opened, but the wrapper had a hole about the size of a pin in it, according to the police.
In addition to the candy bar, police say they also got a statement from the child's mother.
A control test of the same type of Ohio candy bar purchased from a nearby gas station yielded the same results, according to the Byesville Police Department.
Authorities brought the Ohio candy bar to a laboratory for further analysis.
Those who went trick-or-treating in Byesville yesterday night had been advised to throw away or dispose of their candies until the probe is over. However, Byesville authorities declined to specify which candy brand tested positive for meth.
The Byesville Police Department will inform the public of the results as soon as authorities received them from the laboratory.
In August, the US Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning about "rainbow fentanyl," or brightly colored fentanyl pills that look like candy and are being sold by drug gangs as a way to get kids hooked on the opioid painkiller, according to an NPR report.
Is Rainbow Fentanyl a Politicized Issue?
Dr. Ryan Marino, a medical toxicologist, emergency physician, and addiction medicine expert at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, brought up the US midterm elections concerning the issue on fentanyl.
The medical expert said that America is facing a very intense election year, and the illegal drug overdose issue has gotten "heavily politicized."
"It also seems as if people are using fentanyl for political purposes," Dr. Marino remarked according to the report.
According to KPBS, several Democrats expressed support to a Republican proposal to officially classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. However, the Biden government has rejected the notion.
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Sheila Vakharia, the deputy director of the Drug Policy Alliance's department of research and academic engagement, the focus on false information regarding rainbow fentanyl distracts from the actual overdose issue.
She went on to say that over a million people have died from drug overdoses in the last two decades, and that number is expected to rise.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 92,000 people would lose their lives to drug overdoses in 2020.
Ohio Authorities: Fight Against Deadly Narcotic Must Continue
Ohio's Northern District U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Significant quantities of fentanyl were seized in operations conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit Division in the state of Ohio.
From May 23, 2022, through September 8, 2022, the DEA and its law enforcement partners in Ohio recovered almost 65 kilograms of fentanyl powder and 87,000 fentanyl-laced tablets as part of the statewide "One Pill Can Kill" effort. This is enough for 4,766,788 fatal doses.
In an October press release from the US Department of Justice, First Assistant United States Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler stated, "Across the country and particularly here, in Northern Ohio, we have witnessed, firsthand, the proliferation of fentanyl and the devastating effects it has had on our neighbors and loved ones."
She emphasized that battling drug traffickers that distribute the "deadly narcotic" in the streets is an "enduring and relentless battle, but we must continue to fight."
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