Back in early 2022, Elkhart County in northern Indiana released a warning for residents about fentanyl-laced weed. They’d noticed a large jump in opioid-related overdoses that also seemed more intense than usual. They had suspicions that marijuana laced with fentanyl could have been one of the reasons behind this. Rare cases of dealers selling marijuana laced with hard drugs have been reported. However, reports of marijuana laced with the deadly opioid fentanyl in 2017 were not credible, according to the fact-checking agency Snopes. Back in 2021, the state of Connecticut reported 39 overdoses due to fentanyl-laced marijuana, although these have since been disputed.

Common Substances Weed is Laced With

For more information on the dangers of fentanyl, please visit Fentanyl Awareness (dea.gov). Phencyclidine, also commonly known as angel dust, is another white powdery substance which can quickly dissolve into a liquid. This makes it easy to spray on a blunt without raising suspicion.

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Graduating from medical school in 2004 and residency in 2008, Dr. Dugar has been a licensed physician for almost 20 years and has been leading the push for medical cannabis nationwide. Buying flower means you can also access the trichomes, the white, sticky crystals attached to your weed. Real trichomes will stick to your fingers, but if you notice dust falling off your flower, it has been laced. According to American Addiction Centers, reliable statistics on how common lacing is are unavailable. Understandably, most statistics on lacing originate from news articles in the aftermath of a tragedy.

K2: It’s not cannabis, but it’s a problem

Still, users report similar symptoms mostly because they can’t handle the effects of THC. Although not so common among seasoned users, that has been known to happen to newbies. But even if you hear all good things about laced weed effects, giving up and divorcing your alcoholic husband don’t add other chemicals to your pot! Lacing weed refers to a cannabis flower that has been combined with other substances, such as drugs, additives, and inorganic materials, to increase or diminish some of the effects of the drug.

Smoking marijuana that is contaminated with fentanyl could be dangerous, as it only takes a small amount of fentanyl to overdose. Both fentanyl and marijuana are central nervous system depressants that decrease a person’s heart rate and lower blood pressure, and using them together is not considered safe. And since a lethal dose of fentanyl is roughly the size of two grains of sand, it would be easy for this cross-contamination to kill marijuana users. The Connecticut Forensic Science Lab confirmed that the marijuana collected did in fact contain fentanyl. Vermont police tested the marijuana and found it contained a frightening amount of fentanyl. Prior to Uvalde, news organizations were starting to reconsider their unquestioning publication of police claims as verified facts.

The increase in cannabis laced with drugs or sprayed additives for profit is concerning. While encountering drug-laced weed is rare, the likelihood of sprayed weed is higher. Contamination can occur at any stage, so trusting appearances alone is risky.

Synthetic opiates like fentanyl have been found in marijuana, Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco said Monday. […] She did not specify how many cases involved marijuana mixed with a synthetic opiate. This combination can speed up and intensify the drug’s effects. It depends on other drugs taken, a person’s height, weight, age, and physical condition. In the last two years, news on marijuana lacing has had many of its users in a frenzy.

Unfortunately, experimentation with lacing has grown in popularity. Recreational users typically experiment with lacing to amplify the various effects of marijuana. However, you are putting cocaine crack your health at risk by consuming laced drugs. Before discussing how to tell if weed is laced and with what, it’s important to remember that lacing your weed with anyone is always dangerous.

This batch of meth had been laced with fentanyl and as many people now know, a single grain of fentanyl can kill the user. Sadly, as a direct result of this, nine people died on the same day. In 2017, claims by Canadian officials of fentanyl-spiked marijuana deaths sparked confusion, despite coroners reporting no cases. Conway has been criticized for repeating the claim in the past, such as at a March 1 conference for conservative activists. In a statement, the Yarmouth Police Department said its officers “believe that it is possible that the marijuana was laced with fentanyl, which police are starting to see more and more across the country.” It is not safe to think that just because a doctor prescribed this medication, one can take it free from the dangers of overdose.

In other words, it’s nearly impossible to identify using the abovementioned techniques. In the case of weed-laced fentanyl, the powder is sprinkled into a joint. With fentanyl in marijuana, the goal is to experience heightened short-term pleasures. Marijuana laced with fentanyl is becoming more common nationwide.

This drug can frequently be used in amounts larger than intended, and that makes overdose on cocaine cut with this drug very likely to occur. Laced weed, on the other hand, will cause a variety of side effects, different from what you normally feel when you smoke normal weed. Most dealers are likely to lace the weed with cheap substances like glass, perfumes, or laundry detergents to increase the weight and smell or to make the drug seem more potent.

1. Instead, stories of people overdosing on fentanyl while using cannabis might be because a person uses opioids while they use cannabis.
2. Prior to Uvalde, news organizations were starting to reconsider their unquestioning publication of police claims as verified facts.
3. While marijuana addiction is generally not considered a severe type of drug addiction, it can be much more dangerous when fentanyl is involved in marijuana use.
4. Finally, both are social drugs and are easily available in social settings, like parties and raves, so it makes sense that people would use them together.

There aren’t many options to get the weed out of your system faster. Exercising regularly (although not right before a test), healthy eating and hydration can all help, but they won’t substantially change your THC levels. Overdose is even possible if a doctor prescribed the medication. That is one of the reasons why doctors closely track patients who use this drug.

The home she lived in was “littered with opioids,” the district attorney’s office said. The bill has passed in the state Senate and currently awaits a fiscal review. An adult can become hypoxic in a matter of minutes, but for a child, it can happen in less than one. Naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose, must be administered quickly. “I have an idea that there’s going to likely be some of our much younger children that are impacted by fentanyl in this next report,” Carrigan said.

Participating in polysubstance use by smoking fentanyl-laced weed drastically increases your risk of negative side effects and overdose. It is up to 100 times more potent than morphine, so it is evident that even a small dose of it in fentanyl-laced weed can cause an overdose. Unfortunately, when these drugs are laced with fentanyl, they are not done with regard to any exact measurements or dosages. Similar to overdose on any opioid, it can potentially be fatal. Fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing this country.

As with other drugs, regular use builds tolerance, and cannabis messes with your senses, so one can end up overdosing on heroin more easily. More than a few are a clear indicator that you’re dealing with cocaine-laced weed (although users are usually the ones who spike their pot with coke in the first place). If you doubt that your weed is laced with other substances, don’t risk it. It might be better to lose some of it than suffer the consequences. Rapid result fentanyl test strips are now available to test for the presence of fentanyl in illicit drugs or medications. You are the start of the pushback to fake news about “fentanyl-laced weed.” So next time you stumble into that BS, clean it up with the facts above.

Since marijuana and fentanyl are both forms of depressants, the effects you feel might be amplified. This can be dangerous as it can slow your heart rate or breathing to levels that aren’t safe for your body. Another important aspect of recovery from fentanyl use specifically is finding a program that knows how to help someone detox from opioids.

In the past decade, fentanyl has become common in illicit drug supplies around the world. A kilo of heroin costs about $50,000-$100,000, how to detox your body while pregnant and grams sell for under $60. But a kilo of fentanyl—most commonly manufactured in China—can go for almost $1,000,000 per kilo.