Did Somebody Lace This Weed?
Just as the biased studies and under-researched claims of marijuana’s negative effects on the heart have been sensationalized, so too has the ever perpetuated myth of laced marijuana. The unconfirmed stories have been circulating for years. Mostly spread by law enforcement, health officials, and media outlets.
After all… convincing marijuana users that weed isn’t safe to ingest is a pretty clever way to get them to stop buying, selling and/or using it. The problem with the laced weed myths and rumors however, is some good old fashioned reporting of facts. And so, that is what we have for you.
Claire Zagorski wrote a fantastic article for Filter in July of 2021. It was in response to a major newspaper’s claims that laced marijuana was on the rise. You can read the article HERE.
Don’t feel like reading it? Read the Stoner Notes.
The article points out that the Washington Post ran a story on the worsening rise in opioid laced substances, on July 8 of 2021. The primary opioid being fentanyl. However, there are no verified, reliable reports of fentanyl-laced marijuana out there.
It also states that in 2017, an Ohio coroner was quoted as saying “we’ve seen fentanyl mixed with marijuana”. Then later clarifying in a follow up interview that she had not in fact, seen evidence of marijuana contaminated with fentanyl, but was repeating something that her co-presenter had told her.
Furthermore, if you were to light fentanyl on fire, you would destroy it. The drug cannot survive direct flame, and is vulnerable to heat, ultraviolet light and even hydrogen peroxide.
What about edibles? Well, decarbing marijuana and baking it requires enough heat to erode the fentanyl steadily and surely.
Feeling better about that area of worry? Good. Let’s keep going.
In July of 2021, Chris Roberts contributed an article to Forbes, about yet another claim of the existence of laced marijuana. You can read the article HERE.
Don’t feel like digging into that? Read the Stoner Notes.
In July of 2021, the chief of the Santa Cruz Police Department, took to social media claiming a confirmed overdose and death from smoking fentanyl-laced marijuana. However, standing in front of cameras at a news conference shortly after, he went as far as to doubt it… on air.
The article goes on to reiterate that myths and rumors have been making rounds for years, but almost exclusively in news reports or police press releases. The numbers just don’t tell the same story. According to a review of data and interviews with harm-reduction specialists, marijuana laced with fentanyl poses a risk more remote than 1 in a million.
Last but not least, we have an article from senior editor of Vice, Manisha Krishnan. She questions a health alert issued by Connecticut health and law enforcement officials in November of 2021, claiming the “first lab confirmed case of fentanyl laced marijuana”. You can read it HERE.
Not into reading that? Read the Stoner Notes.
First of all, is anyone else bothered by the timeline here? How can we keep having the first known case of laced marijuana?
A sample of marijuana seized by police responding to an overdose in Connecticut, tested positive for an undisclosed amount of fentanyl. However, once again, doctors and drug policy experts stated that the case was extremely rare, and that laced marijuana is largely a myth spread by the police. More likely accidental contamination, rather than intentional lacing.
Robert Lawlor, a drug intelligence officer with the Connecticut Overdose Response Strategy team, which is responsible for sending out the alert, admitted that the risk of large scale contamination of marijuana with fentanyl “is not that great”, describing reports as “Urban Legend”
The article goes on to list a number of false claims of laced marijuana by health officials and law enforcement… and none of them have been backed up with solid evidence or any proof.
It is our sincerest hope, that the information in the above articles helped you feel better about your fears of laced marijuana. If you’d like to look around our website some more, click the home link below:
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