![]() ![]() The drug, although legitimately dangerous, has also been the subject of a sensational media narrative that has framed it as being more lethal than it actually is. I hope we find the ones responsible.Īlthough news of the suspect folded money spread far and wide, we have encountered no evidence, as of this writing, that the threat extends beyond the two incidents in Perry County, Tennessee.įentanyl is a powerful opioid painkiller that is, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, considerably stronger than both morphine and heroin. It enrages me as a father and the Sheriff, that people can act so carelessly and have no regard for others well being, especially a child. I personally plan to push for legislation for a bill that would intensify the punishment, if someone is caught using money as a carrying pouch for such poison. This is very dangerous, folks! Please share and educate your children to not pick up the money. There, Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems warned residents that in two incidents, folded dollar were bills found on the floor of "a local gas station" and those bills contained a powder substance that "was later tested and was positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl." We will address all of this in more detail below.Īll of the posts and stories about drug-laced, folded dollar bills can be traced to a Facebook post made on June 8, 2022, by the Perry County Sheriff's Office, which is west of Nashville, Tennessee. Medical experts who, in 2021, weighed in on a viral video containing an alleged fentanyl overdose stated that it's not possible to overdose on fentanyl by simply coming into casual contact with the drug. Some of the headlines that were being published contain sensational language about overdosing on fentanyl. And while it's true that authorities in one locale cautioned about two incidents involving drug-laced, folded-up dollar bills purportedly being found on the ground, national news coverage of the incidents may have given the impression that the threat is more widespread than it is. ![]() However, it's false to claim that simply picking up and touching dollar bills with fentanyl and methamphetamine could be dangerous. ![]() Similar headlines were published by outlets covering wide-ranging locales, including in Alabama and Pennsylvania.Ī similar warning posted on Facebook by the Giles County Sheriff's Department in Tennessee and the Lewis County Sheriff's Department in West Virginia included a photograph of a penny and a comparatively small amount of fentanyl powder, and the statement, "The amount of powder next to the penny (if fentanyl laced) is more than enough to kill anyone that it comes into contact with." "Sheriff Warns Against Picking Up Folded Money That Could 'Kill Anyone,'" cautioned a headline published by the national news outlet Newsweek. "If You See A Folded $1 Bill On The Ground, Police Warn Do Not Pick It Up," warned a headline posted online by WCKT, a radio station based in Lehigh Acres, Florida. ![]() In early June 2022, a number of news outlets and social media users published posts and headlines warning that picking up folded dollar bills off the ground could be dangerous because people were using the folded bills to stash dangerous drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. Further, while it's true that authorities in one locale in Tennessee had cautioned about drug-laced dollar bills supposedly being found at a gas station, those reports were based on two isolated incidents and did not demonstrate a widespread problem. Rather, it's the ingesting and snorting of them that could do harm. Medical experts say simply picking up and touching such drugs is not harmful. ![]()
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