Another Cannabis Myth to Piss you Off!
Are you ready to rage? No, not in the “Party sense” of the word…but actual fury and anger. I’m sure by now you’ve read the headlines: “Cannabis laced with Fentanyl – Something else you need to be afraid of!”
Now this isn’t the first time we have heard these kinds of myths. Last year, and I fully expect this year also, we heard the myth relating to “Cannabis-Laced Halloween Candy” where Sheriffs came out and warned parents that their innocent children might be ingesting the “evil marijuana” unsuspectingly.
The problem is, last year there were no cases of cannabis-laced candy. What about the Fentanyl-Laced Cannabis? Is there a measure of truth to this myth? If you read the title of this article…you should know the answer by now.
The Origins of the Myth
So where did the Myth originate? It comes from Canada where officials tested the urine of cannabis consumer and found fentanyl in their system. Apparently, these were “Cannabis-Only” users and obviously the cops concluded that the weed is being laced with Fentanyl.
However, despite these claims…the police have not seized one ounce of fentanyl laced weed meaning that it’s purely theoretical.
The Myth then made its way down south to the United States and it got even more publicity Ohio Lawmaker Rob Portman continued the blatant fictional facts. It took a few months for DA Matthew Stowe of Tennessee to reaffirm the myth, thus sparking a national debate on the issue.
The only problem is, there is no evidence to support the claim. It’s just hearsay or a serious case of broken-telephone.
Here’s what DA Stowe had to say about it;
There are some marijuana dealers that will tell their clients that I have no doubt there is fentanyl in it and some of the more addictive folks, especially folks that also use other drugs, will get that marijuana laced with fentanyl in hopes of getting a better high.” Stowe claimed, without evidence. Adding, “The bottom line is, anyone, anywhere could mix fentanyl and marijuana and there’s no way of knowing it until it’s too late.”
It’s quite obvious that DA Stowe has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about and very little understanding about the nature of addicts.
He continued…
“Marijuana laced with fentanyl can be extremely deadly and to anyone who touches it, taste it, smokes it [or] anything else of that nature,” Stowe claimed. “If it’s laced with fentanyl, marijuana can be the deadliest drug there is.”
The Simple Bait and Switch
Now for those of you who read my articles, you know I always analyze everything to the smallest detail. In this case, it’s quite clear what the objective behind this myth is. It’s a simple “Bait and Switch”.
Fact: The US is going through an Opioid Crisis at the Moment
Fact: Cannabis is helping curb the opioid epidemic
Fact: People are very aware of the opioid epidemic in the US
Thus, by associating cannabis with the opioid epidemic in a negative light, subconsciously ties the concept of cannabis to the opioid epidemic. It’s the same narrative that Jeff Sessions has been pushing for the past few months. Negative Association allows lawmakers and policy enforcers to delay the legalization of cannabis and call for a more “conservative approach” because…well...the children.
The Only Time in History When Cannabis Was Dangerous
This isn’t the first time we heard about the weed-laced drug premise…however the only time it actually turned out to be true was when the US government was spraying cannabis crops with Paraquat in the 1980s.
The DEA actually admitted to this in 1988 and were probably responsible for the deaths of thousands of cannabis users. This despite the fact that the use of Paraquat was banned in 1983, the DEA thought it ‘just’ to use poisons to poison consumers all over the nation.
Once more, this isn’t the first time the government poisoned their own people. They did it during alcohol prohibition as well where they added poisons to commercial alcohol to “discourage” users from drinking. This of course did not stop people from drinking and more than 10,000 people lost their lives.
The government has a long standing history of deception and shady tactics. The current Fentanyl scare is just another one of these myths used to create doubt in a population that is 60% in favor of legalizing cannabis completely. When we’re talking about medical cannabis, the number is a shocking 95% in favor of legalizing on a Federal level.
Grasping for Straws
The drug war is in it’s final (years). It simply takes a victory for cannabis to unleash the floodgates where a more sensible drug policy can be in place. It seems that prohibitionists are attempting to usurp the movement by spreading lies, however in the age of information where it takes less than 5 minutes to fact check…well, it’s a counter-productive strategy to say the least.
So don’t worry….you won’t be smoking Fentanyl on your weed...
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