By Karen Kier
Pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team

In 1972, Sammy Davis, Jr. released the song, The Candy Man.  Sammy Davis, Jr. was an amazingly talented man who could sing, dance, play various instruments, and could make you laugh. 

He was considered to be one of the world’s best entertainers during his career.

He was born into an entertainment family in Harlem, New York. He started in vaudeville at the age of three with his father.  Sammy could be seen in Broadway shows, as well as Las Vegas stages as part of the Rat Pack.  Sammy was in films with his fellow Rat Pack actors, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. In 1960, Ocean’s Eleven was released that starred all three of them. 

In 1987, Sammy was presented with a Kennedy Center Honor.  He passed away in 1990 before being awarded a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement in 2001.  

The lyrics from his 1972 song ask “What kind of candy do you want?”  Being a big fan of candy, my answer would be chocolate with peanut butter!  

Halloween is a festive occasion when candy is often handed out in response to “trick or treat”.  In the 1970s, the term Halloween sadism was coined to represent a practice of tainting candy with dangerous objects or drugs.  University of Delaware sociology professor, Joel Best, has researched this phenomenon over many decades.  His research has demonstrated a very low rate of reports with less than 30 events in over 32 years.  

Why the discussion of candy and Halloween sadism? Parents are concerned with some of the latest news about drugs looking like candy.

On August 30, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) warned the public of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.  Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and is responsible for more overdose deaths in the United States.  The warning from the DEA involved the influx of fentanyl into the United States from two major drug cartels.  The product is called rainbow fentanyl because the drug is being pressed into very colorful tablets that look like candy.  The bright colors are meant to target young children and teens.  

The rainbow fentanyl tablets contain enough drug to cause a lethal overdose.  Just two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal.  Two milligrams of fentanyl would fit on the tip of a pencil or is equal to ten grains of salt or sand.  Very small amounts can be dangerous.  

The pills are pressed and imprinted with numbers and letters that would actually represent US approved medications.  For example, some blue pills may have the imprint code M 30 on the tablet.  In the United States, the legal tablet with this color and code would represent oxycodone 30 mg. Oxycodone is an FDA-approved opioid for the management of moderate to severe pain.  The fake fentanyl pills are being pressed and marked to represent medications such as Xanax®, Adderall®, and OxyContin®.  

On September 30, 2022, the DEA reported their efforts to reduce the amount of fentanyl in the United States.  Between May 23 and September 8, 2022, the agency reported they had seized over 10.2 million illegal fentanyl pills and 980 pounds of fentanyl powder.  This amount of fentanyl is equivalent to 36 million overdose deaths.  

On October 4, 2022, the DEA seized 15,000 rainbow fentanyl pills in New York City.  The pills were hidden in a toy box container that should have contained plastic building blocks.  The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on October 19, 2022 confiscated 12,000 rainbow fentanyl pills hidden in candy box containers.  The dangerous pills were found in boxes representing SweeTARTS®, SKITTLES® and Whoppers®

In September of 2021, the DEA started the One Pill Can Kill public awareness campaign (https://www.dea.gov/onepill). Due to the rainbow fentanyl concerns, the DEA has created a guide for the public about fake pills. Visit https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/DEA-OPCK_Parent%20flyer_...

The COVID-19 pandemic has met up with the opioid overdose pandemic.  Both the American Medical Association and the CDC have sounded the alarm related to the increase in opioid deaths during the pandemic.  Substance abuse and overdose deaths have increased substantially.  Purchasing drugs on the street can have dangerous results due to unknown ingredients with unknown quantities.  Naloxone is used to reverse opioid overdoses and potentially can help save lives.  

To learn more about substance abuse disorders or naloxone distribution programs (Project Dawn) contact your healthcare professional, public health department, or ONU HealthWise Pharmacy. 

ONU HealthWise is offering COVID-19 vaccines, as well as flu shots Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. The bivalent COVID-19 vaccines are available.  Clinics are Monday through Friday from 4 pm to 6 pm. Please call the pharmacy for more information.  

ONU HealthWise Pharmacy
419-772-3784
www.onuhealthwisepharmacy.com