‘Fentanyl is serious business. The synthetic opioid is 50 times stronger than heroin and is linked to huge numbers of opioid overdose deaths. It may be mixed with heroin or other powder drugs, producing a more potent high than users expect, and the results are too often fatal.
So it’s not surprising that claims fentanyl has shown up in marijuana causes alarm bells to ring. But there’s not a scintilla of evidence for it, and the claims are doubly damaging. Scaring pot smokers away from a substance that has no overdose potential is not a good thing, and neither is raising fears about opiated weed when weed may actually help people suffering from opioid addiction.
Still, like a vampire, the myth of marijuana laced with the deadly opioid fentanyl refuses to die. It first went nationwide in June, thanks to an Ohio U.S. senator’s press conference, and while a VICE debunking at the time should have driven a stake through its heart, it has risen again this month, most recently thanks to a local prosecutor in Tennessee.’
Read more: Don’t Believe the Hype: Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana Is a Dangerous Myth

‘Fentanyl is serious business. The synthetic opioid is 50 times stronger than heroin and is linked to huge numbers of opioid overdose deaths. It may be mixed with heroin or other powder drugs, producing a more potent high than users expect, and the results are too often fatal.
So it’s not surprising that claims fentanyl has shown up in marijuana causes alarm bells to ring. But there’s not a scintilla of evidence for it, and the claims are doubly damaging. Scaring pot smokers away from a substance that has no overdose potential is not a good thing, and neither is raising fears about opiated weed when weed may actually help people suffering from opioid addiction.
Still, like a vampire, the myth of marijuana laced with the deadly opioid fentanyl refuses to die. It first went nationwide in June, thanks to an Ohio U.S. senator’s press conference, and while a VICE debunking at the time should have driven a stake through its heart, it has risen again this month, most recently thanks to a local prosecutor in Tennessee.’
Read more: Don’t Believe the Hype: Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana Is a Dangerous Myth