Dear Editor: The Dangers of Halloween

Dear Editor,

The Dangers of Halloween: Halloween. Boy, oh boy. What great memories. As a child of the 60s (the 1960s) my brother Bob and I spent the days before Halloween planning what to be. Of course, I had been a Cowboy, Ghost, Soldier, and Cop. These are the ones I can remember. As an older kid, I went as a girl. The norm back then.

Going door to door as a kid to get a variety of little candies seemed awesome. The best were the people that made popcorn balls, brownies, and caramel apples.

I remember my mom having to check the homemade items for razor blades. That was the danger of the time. Thankfully, none were ever found and I got to make sure the Dentist got to buy a new car.

Sadly, things have changed. Now we have Fentanyl. Fentanyl in the shape and colors of candies like Sweet Tarts. Also, Fentanyl looks like sticks of sidewalk chalk.

Fentanyl is a drug manufactured by the Chinese Communist Party. They send this to the Mexican Cartels to be shaped or added to other drugs. Then the Cartels have carriers (mules) to bring it into the United States.

Fentanyl is nasty and bad. Just a few specks can kill you or your child. Recently, two teenage boys from Butte were poisoned by fentanyl-laced drugs, and one died. Just last week, 12,000 pills colored like candy were found in Kalispell. Illicit drugs may be purchased off the internet and delivered to your home. Much like Door Dash.

I read about girls at a school that bought some drugs meant to keep them awake. One died. The pills were laced with fentanyl. Today, if you buy drugs or marijuana on the streets, there is a good chance that it has had fentanyl added to it.

With the border being open, it is as easy as ever to bring these drugs into the U.S. Last year, over 100,000 of our sons, daughters, mothers, dads, brothers, and sisters died from a drug overdose. The lion’s share died from Fentanyl poisoning. It is so bad that those in the know are suggesting that everybody keep a dose or two of Narcan, a substance to stop an overdose.

I guess what I am saying is that you need to be extra observant and careful this Halloween. As a nation, we are way past razor blades in an apple.

Jim Buterbaugh

Whitehall, Montana