Fentanyl Use Prompts Downtown Target to Lock Up Aluminum Foil

A security guard was making his rounds at the Target on the 16th Street Mall when, out of the blue, a cloud of smoke took him out of commission for the rest of his shift. "I had to go home because I just got too fucking high," he says.

"Blues," as drug experts call them, have led to a new shoplifting phenomenon at the downtown Target, where fentanyl users will swipe aluminum foil straight from the shelves and freebase the illegal blue pills right there in the middle of the store, according to security guards.

The guard, who agreed to share only his first name, Donovan, says the problem has gotten so bad that store management decided to lock up its store supply of Reynolds Wrap, and will continue doing so for the foreseeable future.

"They steal everything," says Donovan, noting that shoplifters take plenty of items besides the foil. "We're just more concerned about the safety of them smoking it."

Nearly every Target on earth already keeps certain items behind locked plexiglass cabinets — including game consoles, expensive headphones, and other pricey merchandise. However, the use of drugs at the 16th Street Mall location has led to a detention not seen in many Denver stores, let alone Targets.

The department giant has multiple locations around the metro area; stores in Edgewater and Glendale both confirm that they don't lock up their aluminum foil. Workers at the King Soopers behind Union Station, at 1950 Chestnut Place, also say they don't keep their foil locked away.

But other stores on the 16th Street Mall have put theirs under protective order, too. The CVS at the corner of Stout and 16th keeps its foil behind the checkout counter; according to one worker there, it's because people kept coming in and swiping pieces of it.

Donovan describes "a whole process," with people coming into Target to steal "just a little bit" of foil, then using a lighter to heat the blue pills on the foil before smoking the fentanyl.

When it's windy outside, Donovan says the aluminum foil activity picks up inside, with users often smoking blues in the downstairs lobby of the Target or in its elevator.

"Usually they don't give a shit if kids are walking through, dogs, old people — they just smoke it," he adds.

Fentanyl panic has generated stories of near-death experiences across the country, including tales of police officers and civilians encountering fentanyl and overdosing just from touching the drug.

According to the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment, though, there is no risk of overdose from touching fentanyl or inhaling secondhand smoke. However, health experts still advise avoiding exposure.

While Target is focused on aluminum foil, the CVS on the 16th Street Mall recently took to locking up its soda and cold food coolers, too.

The extra security measures were made public in an April 4 Reddit post, with commenters pointing out that they now need to now wait for workers or the manager to get something as simple as a Coke.


The CVS guard grew up coming to the 16th Street Mall, he says, adding that the drug situation didn't get this bad "until COVID hit and everyone started losing their jobs."

"The homeless problem and the drug problem are really bad in Denver," says James Hoover, a canvasser for the Nature Conservancy who often works on the 16th Street Mall. "I see all these people smoking crack and stuff in the alleys. I'm like, 'Damn, they need some help.'"

"We cannot comment on thefts at our retail locations here on 16th Street Mall at this time," says Joshua Schneider, a spokesman for the Downtown Denver Partnership, which oversees the mall.

He referred all questions to the Denver Police Department, along with "any of the outreach organizations that are helping get those suffering from addiction the help they need."

The DPD has not yet responded to our request for comment.