Sheriff: Dangerous and colorful new drug circulating in Cobb County

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Cobb County law enforcement are warning residents of a dangerous new drug circulating in the area that looks a lot like candy.

The Marietta Cobb Smyrna Organized Crime Task Force says they've started seeing a purple drug known as Purple Heroin or Rainbow Fentanyl on the streets in recent months.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the drug comes in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes. Officials believe drug traffickers are trying to use it to target children and young adults.

Law enforcement officials say the drug can be dangerous to your health in even small qualities and people should use extreme caution.

(Cobb County Sheriff's Office)

‘RAINBOW FENTANYL': DEA WARNS OF COLORFUL SYNTHETIC DRUGS AIMED AT ATTRACTING YOUNG PEOPLE

In total, DEA agents and law enforcement partners say they've seized the brightly-colored drug in 18 states.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid described as 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, can be lethal at just 2 milligrams. Georgia health officials say while there are those who seek out fentanyl for the high, many people don't even know what they're taking. There's no way of knowing if a drug has been mixed with fentanyl because it can't be detected by sight or smell. If there is fentanyl pressed into a pill, there's no way of telling how much has been added. 

Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate there were over 107,000 fatal drug overdoses in the U.S. in 2021, an increase of nearly 15% from the previous year, federal officials said. Synthetic opioids — primarily fentanyl — accounted for more than three quarters of those deaths.