The fentanyl crisis continues to impact California and has now led to the overdose of a two-year-old child, who authorities believe ate rainbow-colored fentanyl.
Northern California parents have been arrested on charges of child endangerment, as well as charges relating to possession of controlled substances, according to officials. The couple took their two-year-old son to a fire department, saying they were afraid he had eaten an unknown material while someone else was watching him, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday.
The office noted that he “was acting lethargic and showing symptoms of opioid poisoning,” according to KTLA.
A nearby medical center sent a helicopter, and medical personnel gave him naloxone to serve as an antidote to the overdose. He was then taken to the medical center to be treated and is being watched by the Butte County Children Services Division.
Officials added that detectives carried out a search warrant in a trailer where they think he consumed the fentanyl. They also discovered methamphetamine and “a small amount of rainbow-colored fentanyl in a silicone container” in the parent’s car. Detectives reportedly think that the drug which was probably consumed by the boy “had the appearance of rainbow-colored candy, and had been placed in a silicone container in a form which might appeal to a child.”
Fentanyl has increasingly been an issue in the Golden State, even as Attorney General Rob Bonta refuses to acknowledge the role the border crisis is playing in the uptick in fentanyl overdose fatalities.
In a recent examination of how fentanyl-related overdose deaths are impacting rural California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that six people in Butte County died of an overdose related to fentanyl in 2020. That number jumped to 42 in 2021.
California authorities also recently reported that 12,000 suspected fentanyl pills were discovered concealed inside of boxes of candy at a TSA checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport. The narcotics were discovered inside candy wrappers like Whoppers, Sweet Tarts, and Skittles on Wednesday morning, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.
The department announced that the suspect was trying to board a plane and was caught as he or she went through TSA screening. The person ran away and escaped, but has reportedly “been identified and the investigation is on-going.”
“With Halloween approaching, parents need to make sure they are checking their kids candy and not allowing them to eat anything until it has been inspected by them. If you find anything in candy boxes that you believe might be narcotics, do not touch it and immediately notify your local law enforcement agency,” the department added.
