Bogus Fentanyl Drug Warning: Touching small amounts of drugs could be lethal to officers
Last month, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) re-issued a warning to police officers claiming that touching carfentanil and fentanyl could be lethal. (Click here to see their 2016 warning.)
Police claim that touching drugs can kill them
A DEA report titled "Fentanyl a Briefing Guide for First Responders" mentions numerous instances of people dying from overdosing. But fails to document a single instance of police officer deaths as a result of touching drugs. The report, also fails to mention that it was written by numerous police officers from across the country.
“We need everybody in the United States to understand how dangerous this is,” DEA chief Chuc Rosenberg said. “Exposure to an amount equivalent to a few grains of sand can kill you.”
When cops start writing fake medical reports, designed to scare the public everyone should take notice.
Police told to wear Hazmat suits to test for drugs
The report, warns officers not to field test for drugs unless they are trained in 'Hazmat" handling. The report goes on to say police officers should wear Level A Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) if they find large amounts of drugs.
The DEA also claims, Fentanyl exposure to police officers "is an unprecedented threat".
What is noteworthy about the report is, there are no peer reviews by toxicologists or doctors substantiating their claims.
The DEA is beginning to sound more and more like Homeland Security. For years DHS has been using their National Terrorism Advisory System and DHS monthly SAFECOM bulletins to scare the public.
It's also worth noting, that the report did not provide a single documented case of first responders dying from touching fentanyl. And two Google searches for "fentanyl drug overdose kills police officer" and "fentanyl drug overdose kills first responders" turned up ZERO articles of police dying from touching drugs.
So, what's the truth about fentanyl?
Police officers will not overdose from touching fentanyl
The Philadelphia Enquirer says, getting an overdose from touching fentanyl is highly unlikely.
“It’s just not plausible that getting a small amount of fentanyl on your skin is going to cause significant opioid toxicity. You don’t absorb enough drug fast enough to get toxicity that way” said Andrew Stolbach, an emergency physician and medical toxicologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
“That sort of incidental exposure would not cause such severe opioid toxicity,” said Joseph D’Orazio, a Temple University emergency physician and medical toxicologist.
“Yes, two to three milligrams of fentanyl would be sufficient to make most people stop breathing if it found its way into the bloodstream. However, fentanyl just isn’t absorbed through skin into your blood quickly or efficiently enough to make this kind of dose possible from incidental contact" Stollbach said.
A clinical instructor says, police cannot overdose from touching fentanyl.
“Neither fentanyl nor even its uber-potent cousin carfentanil (two of the most powerful opioids known to humanity) can cause clinically significant effects, let alone near-death experiences,from mere skin exposure,” said Jeremy Faust, an emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School.
Try not to laugh, as police claim fentanyl might be delivered in an aerosol form.
"Did the deputy touch or inhale something?" said Cristie Kahler, spokeswoman for the Harford County Sheriff's Office.
"Maybe it aerosolized," said Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association."This new designer stuff. We don't even know what we're walking into now."
The Director of medical toxicology at the University of Philadelphia is surprised by the lack of investigative journalism regarding fentanyl
The immense amount of uncritical pickup of this story seems to indicate “an interesting new ‘hysteria,’ for lack of a better term,”about opioids.
Why is the mass media not investigating the facts?
“The cycle of journalism and the cycle of science are completely incompatible,” McBride said. The scientific process takes a long time, which means new developments happen very slowly" said Kelly McBride, the vice president of the Poynter Institute.
Police often can't distinguish food from drugs
For years, law enforcement has been using two dollar drug kits that mistake food and common household items for drugs. The truth is. police drug testing kits have resulted in numerous wrongful convictions across the country.
Below, are some examples of police mistaking food and common household items for drugs.
Click here to read how police have mistaken raw chocolate, spearmint, peppermint, basil, oregano, patchouli, vanilla, cinnamon leaf, lemon grass, bergamot, lavender, ginseng, anise, gingko, eucalyptus, rose, cloves, ginger, frankincense, vine flower, chicory flower, olive flower, cypress, and St. John's wort for drugs.
How long will it take police officers to use Blue Lives Matter laws to claim that alleged drug users intentionally tried to kill them? How long before police waste taxpayer dollars by using hazmat teams to remove drugs from vehicles?
Sadly, this will not be the last time that the mass media and law enforcement work together to sway public opinion.