Fentanyl spiked cannabis is not a thing, cops and media should stop scaremongering
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For the past two years, chilling stories of “fentanyl-laced marijuana” have been in the news between law enforcement agencies and some anti-cannabis media, although lab tests have never confirmed this.
Does fentanyl-laced weed even exist? Leafly conducted a 6-month investigation and analyzed claims about fentanyl-laced cannabis. “Many of our readers are medical marijuana patients or adult cannabis users. If they are at serious risk from using cannabis-related products, we intend to let them know,” Leafly said.
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“The lie spreads from three sources: faulty field drug test kits, police departments being incited to exaggerate local fear, and reporters failing to question, investigate or follow up on police claims,” it added Leafly added.
In fact, traces of fentanyl have only been found in one cannabis sample on US soil — one of 40 claimed in Connecticut, where a state health leader admitted it may be “the first confirmed case in the United States.”
According to harm reduction specialists, “marijuana, even if pollinated with fentanyl, would probably not kill a consumer because fentanyl burns at a lower temperature than marijuana.”
Even WebMD said that was a myth. “There is no scientific data that would confirm this assumption [that fentanyl-laced weed is causing widespread fatalities] so far,” said Lawrence Weinstein, MD and chief medical officer at American Addiction Centers.
According to the Ontario Harm Reduction Network (OHRN), there have been no laboratory-confirmed cases of fentanyl-laced cannabis. OHRN also said that fentanyl has a high profit margin, while marijuana has a low profit margin.
Additionally, fentanyl’s high potential for fatal overdose makes it a poor option for inducing addiction. “The idea that they would increase addiction doesn’t hold water because of the lethality [fentanyl]. It’s really a myth,” Weinstein added.
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Additionally, testing positive for both fentanyl and marijuana does not automatically mean that you have consumed fentanyl-laced weed.
“It is more likely that this person will also test positive for fentanyl with other substances. [Fentanyl] much more commonly used when cutting opioids. This does not mean that other substances cannot be spiked with fentanyl, but given the frequency and likelihood, other substances would most likely need to be tested,” Weinstein concluded.
This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.
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