Cannabis
Related: About this forumClaim of fentanyl-laced weed in Michigan doesn't pass the smell test
Outlets like WDIV in Detroit and Fox 17 in Grand Rapids took the news release and ran with it uncritically. But something smells fishy.
The press release clarifies that though eight suspected cases of fentanyl-laced weed have been reported in Michigan since June, none have been confirmed.
While claims of fentanyl-laced pot have made the rounds across the country in recent years, other outlets of greater journalistic integrity have cast doubt on their veracity. Fact-checking website Snopes deemed such claims false, while Buzzfeed called them "the hardiest urban legend of the U.S. overdose crisis."
At issue is the fact that lacing cannabis with fentanyl doesn't make any sense fentanyl is more expensive per gram than weed. It's like the claims circulated widely by law enforcement and local news around Halloween warning of cannabis edibles disguised as candy, another myth with no basis in reality. Who would knowingly give away expensive cannabis edibles to kids?
https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/claim-of-fentanyl-laced-weed-in-michigan-doesnt-pass-the-smell-test/Content?oid=28675620
Hey, I'm sure someone laced my beer with Jack.
Skittles
(159,061 posts)when I read that I thought, well, that is odd, there's a money discrepancy there
Bernardo de La Paz
(50,872 posts)The idea is that crooks would have some incentive to put a faint dusting on 5% THC ditch weed and it would simulate 25% primo.
But I'm guessing the profit margin selling fentanyl-laced opioids is higher.
Voltaire2
(14,700 posts)I had to go see if smoking fentanyl was even possible, and it is, but it probably has to be done like crack. So one could have weed laced with it, but as you note it seems really unlikely.
hlthe2b
(106,298 posts)Hell, cannabis has become expensive enough--even in legal states--even that made for limited veterinary uses, apparently. There would be zero incentive to "give away" the fentanyl value for any cannabis product.
Bernardo de La Paz
(50,872 posts)Selection of pristine fresh bud to choose from. Commercially grown and sealed-packaged, never bricked. Purity completely trustworthy from seed to cash register. THC level analyzed, terpene highlights stated, as is strain (indica, sativa, hybrid). Typically a hundred varieties available any given day, most not in oz, but 7g or 3.5g.
Still about $35-50 US / quarter (7g). Prices include all tax. Powder (25%, most economical), pre-rolls, edibles, and beverages available.
Price of black market weed going up due to enforcement continuing, becoming really goofy to buy weed illegally, downsides with little upside.
multigraincracker
(34,057 posts)janterry
(4,429 posts)I have no idea why this is being done. Or how often.
But arrests were made in southern vermont following reports of overdose related to marijuana laced w/fentanyl
https://www.wcax.com/2021/12/02/search-warrant-turns-up-more-marijuana-laced-with-fentanyl/
https://www.wcax.com/2021/11/22/fentanyl-lace-marijuana-causes-overdose-vermont/
Augiedog
(2,601 posts)Anyone who even remotely understands the opioid/fentanyl issue knows that lacing drugs with other drugs is a time honored thing. Less addictive drugs are COMMONLY laced with addictive drugs in order to maintain the need chain.
Fentanyl is addictive and deadly. Make no mistake, you risk your life counting on some drug dealers chemistry abilities when consuming any street drug.
The amount of fentanyl required to adulterate illegal drugs effectively, and potentially deadly, is minuscule. A salt grain sized particle is sufficient to wipe out you and your family if ingested.
Do not believe that there are safe levels of illegal fentanyl, do not believe that test strips will tell you whether or not fentanyl is present in any drugs you buy off the street. There are forms of fentanyl that defy generally available test regimes.
Methadone treatment centers are required to do urine tests on program participants, at least in my state, and they CONSISTENTLY come back positive for fentanyl. The participants CONSISTENTLY claim they only used pot, would never use fentanyl.
Dont trust sources whose agendas may not align with your best interests. Get information from professional sources.