Authorities issue warning of new "rainbow fentanyl" after seizing thousands of pills

The Pasadena Police Department recently seized more than 300,000 pills laced with fentanyl in a drug bust.

Though those extremely dangerous pills are off the streets, authorities and parents are extremely concerned. 

The deadly pills that Pasadena PD discovered were disguised as candy, making it clear to authorities that the providers are targeting young people. 

With Halloween right around the corner, authorities are urging parents to have a talk with their kids about the growing issue.

"If you see pills or narcotics meant to look like candy, it's a concern for any parent," Pasadena PD Commander Bill Grisafe told CBSLA Reporter Joy Benedict. "Last year we seized a little over 100,000 pills of fentanyl. This year we're already over 700-thousand pills of fentanyl. It's that deception that's affecting the young people."

In 2021, more than 107,000 people died of drug overdose in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Sixty-six percent of those deaths were caused by synthetic opioids, like fentanyl. 

The Drug Enforcement Agency wants parents and children to be on alert as investigators implied that drug cartels are using the LA area as a distribution hub .Any of the drugs are made to look like prescriptions, but ultimately are not. 

"There's no pharmaceutical ingredient in these pills. These pills these are pills manufactured in a clandestine laboratory in Mexico," DEA Los Angels agent Bill Bodner said. "The active ingredient is fentanyl and it doesn't take much fentanyl to kill."