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multigraincracker

(34,069 posts)
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 04:58 AM Dec 2021

Claim 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.

8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Claim of fentanyl-laced weed in Michigan doesn't pass the smell test (Original Post) multigraincracker Dec 2021 OP
ah ok my instincts were correct Skittles Dec 2021 #1
Fentanyl so insanely potent, nobody would put gram for gram Bernardo de La Paz Dec 2021 #6
I guess it's possible, but unlikely. Voltaire2 Dec 2021 #2
Yes... The expense of even homemade fentanyl is what made me discount these stories. hlthe2b Dec 2021 #3
Price of government sold cannabis in Canada is down: now 20+% THC for $110 US / ounce Bernardo de La Paz Dec 2021 #5
OMG the first step toward enslavement. multigraincracker Dec 2021 #4
They just arrested people in VT for this janterry Dec 2021 #7
Then Michigan is the only state without a fentanyl problem, correct? Augiedog Dec 2021 #8

Skittles

(159,240 posts)
1. ah ok my instincts were correct
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 05:48 AM
Dec 2021

when I read that I thought, well, that is odd, there's a money discrepancy there

Bernardo de La Paz

(50,896 posts)
6. Fentanyl so insanely potent, nobody would put gram for gram
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 07:05 AM
Dec 2021

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

(14,701 posts)
2. I guess it's possible, but unlikely.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 05:57 AM
Dec 2021

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

(106,335 posts)
3. Yes... The expense of even homemade fentanyl is what made me discount these stories.
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 05:59 AM
Dec 2021

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

(50,896 posts)
5. Price of government sold cannabis in Canada is down: now 20+% THC for $110 US / ounce
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 07:00 AM
Dec 2021

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.

Augiedog

(2,602 posts)
8. Then Michigan is the only state without a fentanyl problem, correct?
Tue Dec 7, 2021, 07:52 AM
Dec 2021

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.

Don’t trust sources whose agendas may not align with your best interests. Get information from professional sources.

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