Fentanyl-laced marijuana is an urban myth, says one woman on the front lines of battling fentanyl addiction in America
by Rick Thompson/January 5, 2022
Pamela Lynch is the Director of Harm Reduction Michigan, a group whose sole purpose is to minimize the damage done to humans through addictive drugs like methamphetamine, opioids, heroin and fentanyl. She is on the front lines of the fight to stop overdose deaths. When asked if she had ever encountered fentanyl-laced cannabis, her reply came quickly: “Never.”
The question came during her January 4th appearance on Jazz Cabbage Café, Michigan’s award-winning podcast/television show focused on issues relating to the cannabis community. In December of 2021 the Michigan Poison and Drug Information Center issued a holiday warning about fentanyl-laced cannabis and the dangers of overdose.
There has never been a case of fentanyl-laced cannabis in the United States, although law enforcement-supplied rumors of such are regularly circulated through mainstream media outlets across the USA. Lynch’s explanation of why there has never been a case of fentanyl overdose via cannabis use was scientific and immediately obvious.
“Fentanyl doesn’t incinerate,” she offered. “It doesn’t incinerate. There would be no point in lacing marijuana with fentanyl because it doesn’t incinerate like marijuana does… that’s an urban myth.” She later added, “We have not seen it.”
Her statement is not just an observation made by harm reduction workers- it’s a fact touted by none other than the Drug Enforcement Agency. “In November we paid to attend a national conference on stimulants, because of the problems with meth that we’re seeing,” Lynch said. “It was actually a DEA agent who presented at this national conference… he said they do not have one single case of having identified fentanyl-laced marijuana.”
To be an effective medicine fentanyl has to enter the bloodstream through contact with the skin (patches), as an oral medicine (pills) or injected directly into human veins (like heroin). If added to cannabis and smoked, the fentanyl would remain in the ash and drop harmlessly to the floor. Despite this scientific evidence, prohibitionist forces in Michigan try to push the false narrative of fentanyl-laced cannabis in order to maintain distrust of cannabis as a medicine and its effects on society.
“I am so happy to hear you say that,” said Jazz Cabbage co-host Rick Thompson. “We fight this type of information wars battle here all the time… If anyone would know, Pamela, it is you.”
