Boulder County health officials on Thursday warned residents of a high-powered fentanyl powder that is making its way through the area’s illicit drug market — the results of which may be deadly.

Police responded to a suspected overdose death in Boulder on Saturday, according to a press release from Boulder County Public Health. During investigation, officers from the Boulder Police Department and the Boulder County Drug Task Force found multiple granular substances with a texture “similar to drywall plaster,” according to the release.

They found both pink and sand-yellow powder. Field testing showed both substances contained fentanyl. 

Colorado tallied 920 deaths from fentanyl poisoning in 2022. While the number has seemingly plateaued between 2021 and 2023, it’s still four times more than it was in the state in 2016.

“Boulder County community members should remember that fentanyl shows up in different forms and anyone who uses illicit drugs, or knows someone who uses, should always keep the overdose reversal drug Naloxone with them,” said Madeleine Evanoff, Boulder County Public Health Harm Reduction Specialist.

Evanoff went on to say that any drug that is bought illegally should be considered “unpredictable” and can “potentially lead to overdose.”

Naloxone, or Narcan, a nasal spray can reverse an opioid overdose by restoring breathing and blocking the brain’s intake of opioids.

Doses are available for free from Boulder County Public Health, University of Colorado students’ Wardenburg Health Center, Mental Health Partners and local pharmacies without a prescription, according to the release.