Ohio doctor challenges governor’s warning on fentanyl-laced Marijuana
Concerns Over Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana in Ohio Questioned by Medical Experts.
Now that recreational marijuana is becoming legal in Ohio, recent comments made by Gov. Mike DeWine over the dangers of fentanyl-laced marijuana have come under question.
In urging the state senate to pass a bill to make changes to the marijuana law that went into effect last week, DeWine pointed to his concern over fentanyl-laced marijuana.
“This black market will just take off,” DeWine said Wednesday. “People will be getting it from many sources, none of them legally. Without this bill, people could be buying marijuana that has fentanyl in it. The leading cause of death in the state of Ohio of overdoses is fentanyl, 80% of our deaths.”
The governor isn’t the only state official to warn of the drug commonly tied to deadly overdoses, with a county coroner claiming he had seen it added to cannabis in 2017. But one doctor said not only is marijuana laced with fentanyl uncommon, it’s seen as either impractical or scientifically impossible.
Dr. Tasha Turner-Bicknell, an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, is experienced in overdose prevention. She said that through her research with Harm Reduction Ohio, where she sits on the board of directors, she has been unable to find proof that fentanyl is being found in marijuana.
“It’s something that is talked about and it’s covered in the media, but then when actual tests are run in state or government labs it always comes back negative,” Turner-Bicknell said. “We really don’t have any evidence at all that there is any proof of any such thing as fentanyl in marijuana.”
Turner-Bicknell called the concept of fentanyl-laced marijuana a myth. She said one reason is the different temperatures that marijuana and fentanyl have to be burned at to be smoked.
“The way that (fentanyl) would be smoked, it would not really be combustible at the same temperature that marijuana would be burned at,” Turner-Bicknell said. “So, when you talk to people about it more in-depth, it’s also something that’s not really possible, that there would be fentanyl in marijuana and that it would be smoked.”
Another medical expert has previously backed up the UC professor’s findings. In a February interview with NewsNation, toxicologist Dr. Ryan Marino specified what happens to fentanyl at the temperatures needed to smoke marijuana.
“If it were laced into cannabis, say, the fentanyl itself breaks down starting at about 350 degrees Celsius, and this is not just, it’s getting into the air, it’s decomposing into a new compound … as the temperature rises, all fentanyl would be destroyed by about 750 degrees Celsius,” Marino said. “In terms of smoking a joint, using a pipe, anything with cannabis flower, the lighter flame is 2,000 degrees Celsius.”
Turner-Bicknell said that much of the evidence used to cite fentanyl being found in marijuana is overdoses where both substances are found in the system. She said both of these substances being found in a person’s system is not proof of the two being connected and that many of these overdoses lead to the discovery of even more substances in their system.
“I’ve looked at reports where the whole basis for the fact that it was fentanyl-laced marijuana is the fact that fentanyl was found and marijuana was found, and it’s like, ‘OK, what else was there?'” Turner-Bicknell said. “Usually there is a little bit of stimulants, meth, cocaine, crack, something else involved.”
In addition to fentanyl, DeWine said pesticides, metals, and other contaminants are also a risk. Turner-Bicknell said this is also not a real concern, with the chances of buying contaminated marijuana on par with the chances of buying compromised produce.
“It’s not something that I have seen in literature as a serious issue,” Turner-Bicknell said. “I think that your chances of being exposed to those things would be the same as lettuce that comes in a bag that is purchased at the grocery store. If we are concerned about pesticides in marijuana, regulating the market and regulating growers is the best solution.”
Recreational marijuana is now legal in Ohio, though there is not yet a legal way to purchase it.
