Back to School: DEA Rocky Mountain Encourages Parents, Teachers to Discuss the Deadly Threat of Fentanyl
CENTENNIAL, CO – With the 2026-27 school either underway or on the horizon, the Drug Enforcement Administration's Rocky Mountain Field Division (RMFD) is encouraging parents and teachers to reinforce messaging on the deadly dangers of fentanyl.
Remarkably – for a time this year, one of every six fentanyl pills seized in the U.S. had been seized in the Rocky Mountain Field Division. Most of those seizures were in Colorado. Across the RMFD, Interstates 25 and 70 remain fentanyl pill superhighways.
Just two milligrams of fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that leads to respiratory failure – is considered a fatal dose. In 2025, 1,813 Coloradans died of a drug overdose. Utah, Montana, and Wyoming recorded nearly 800 overdose deaths.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates nationwide fentanyl death rates have decreased, but of great concern are Colorado's death rates, which have increased 14%.
"Since the first of the year, our division has already seized millions of fatal doses of fentanyl, in addition to hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine," said DEA RMFD Acting Special Agent in Charge Miguel Chino. "There should be an alarm going off in every parent's mind as school campuses welcome students back. By taking even half of a pill at a party or on school grounds could be a fatal mistake. Fentanyl knows no boundaries."
Fentanyl powder has also become more prevalent within our division, and it is killing many who think they are getting cocaine.
If your child has a cell phone, they have access to a drug dealer.
Emoji codes are often used to make purchase orders, and in nearly all cases payment is easily made via cash apps many people use daily (i.e. Zelle, Venmo).
DEA is often asked, "Why would the cartels want to kill their customers?" The short answer is they don't, but a death is viewed by the cartels as the "cost of doing business."
This back-to-school season, we urge parents and educators to have a discussion with their children and students about the dangers of drugs – fentanyl in particular.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45. Opioids kill more than 200 Americans every day, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse.
DEA's goal is a Fentanyl Free America. Learn more at www.DEA.gov/fentanylfree