CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito is warning parents about the dangers of illicit fentanyl ahead of this Halloween.

Capito (R-W.Va.) joined 12 other Republican Senators this week to release a Public Service Announcement about rainbow fentanyl targeting America’s youth. The drug comes in the form of pills that look like candy and powder that looks like sidewalk chalk.

“All it takes is one pill or enough powder to fit on the tip of a pencil to poison and kill someone,” Capito said in a video message.

The fentanyl crisis is wreaking havoc specifically in West Virginia. Capito said over the past two years, 10 tons of fentanyl has been seized at the Southern border.

“We know fentanyl is in our neighborhoods because it is killing Americans at record rates – over 150 people per day,” she said. “This is the deadliest drug our nation has ever seen.”

Fake prescription drugs like Percocet, oxycodone, Xanax, and Adderall, are being laced with fentanyl.

“Most people don’t know that drug traffickers are selling fake pills that look nearly identical to legitimate prescription medicine,” Capito said.

Capito has provided a list of tips for families below: 

  • Only let kids take candy from trusted neighbors, family, and friends.
  • Set a curfew for trick-or-treaters.
  • Always double, and triple check, their candy for drugs, or suspiciously packaged or unpackaged items.
  • Remind kids to trick-or-treat in groups, and to check in with parents periodically.