Educate your candidates about laced cannabis

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It is election time and close to Halloween politicians say scary things about laced marijuana and try to trick you.

I wrote an article awhile back entitled Misinformation about marijuana in Halloween candy in which we uncovered the real danger is not pot in your kids candy. It is being struck by a motor vehicle during trick or treating. But there is another danger out there trying to get your vote with misinformation.

So what is the real danger?

The facts are clear. The actual threat to children during Halloween? Being hit by a car.

Now they are trying to trick you into thinking cannabis dealers are putting fentanyl in their product again this session. I covered the issue in an article in 2022 and well, here I am again. I just do not believe it and neither should you. During my 2024 Election Coverage I did document a few candidates for public office [Zimmerman (R)/Page (D) and Brill (R)] are making this claim. What do we do as activists when we run into politicians and candidates saying this? We need to educate them, and NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano has done just that with his OP-Ed below.

If you have something to say about this, comment below our join our Facebook Group “Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Network” for an continued discussion of cannabis in Wisconsin.

NORML Op-Ed: Claims of ‘Fentanyl-Laced Cannabis’ Are Common, But Are They Accurate?

Rarely a week goes by without police or other public officials warning about so-called “fentanyl-laced” weed. Upon closer inspection, however, there’s little if any truth behind these sensational claims.

A case in point: Police in Brattleboro, Vermont generated headlines last year when they, along with agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Homeland Security, arrested multiple persons on charges of distributing fentanyl-tainted cannabis.

Days later, however, lab tests confirmed that no fentanyl was present in any of the marijuana samples that had been seized in the raid.

A similar, highly publicized, scenario also unfolded in Connecticut, where officials alleged that marijuana laced with fentanyl was responsible for over three dozen overdose incidents. Forensic analyses later determined that only one of these cases actually involved the ingestion of fentanyl. That case, health officials said, was probably the result of accidental contamination.

Such sensational pronouncements, followed by far less publicized refutations, are nothing new.

In 2019, Kellyanne Conway, the Trump administration’s opioid crisis czar, publicly alleged that cannabis consumers were routinely purchasing fentanyl-laced products on the illicit market. That claim was later dismissed by a senior DEA chemist, who acknowledged that the agency had no record of ever having seized any marijuana that tested positive for fentanyl.

To be clear, marijuana sold on the unregulated market can be of variable quality and purity. In some instances, unscrupulous sellers may even taint cannabis with other controlled substances (though rarely, if ever, is fentanyl among them). In other instances, they may sell samples that inadvertently contain molds or other components that can pose serious dangers to health. Yet in other cases, they may peddle products laced with chemicals that seek to mimic the effects of cannabis, but that pose far greater health risks.

Of course, the solution to these public health concerns isn’t to amplify sensational (and often fictitious) claims. It’s to eliminate the risk of tainted products.

Under a legally regulated system, cannabis products are made available from licensed manufacturers at retail stores. Cannabis is cultivated, and products are manufactured, in accordance with good manufacturing practices. Products are lab tested and labeled accordingly — ensuring that consumers have access to products of verified purity and potency.

To date, 28 states have enacted laws regulating the adult-use cannabis market. To date, these policies are working largely as voters and as lawmakers intended. The illicit market is being disrupted (though not altogether eliminated) and fewer consumers are being exposed to tainted products.

Will marijuana legalization bring an end to the fentanyl epidemic? Of course not. But by taking cannabis products off street corners and placing them behind the counter, lawmakers can provide consumers with a safer experience and greatly reduce their risk of being inadvertently exposed to contaminated products.

Fentanyl:

https://www.dea.gov/what-we-do/news/alerts

Police and media mistakes: Some police and media outlets have claimed fentanyl-laced marijuana, but lab tests show these claims were errors. Unfortunately, the corrections don’t make headlines like the initial claims.

No DEA alerts: The government has drug testing and monitoring systems in place to track the makeup of illegal substances. Any significant spike in cases involving this combination would likely be detected and reported immediately. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has recently issued alerts about fentanyl-laced fake pills like Percocet and Vicodin for pain relief, and Xanax to address anxiety. They have also warned about fentanyl laced with Xylazine which is used to sedate animals. They have not issued alerts about marijuana.

Further, there are about 55 million people in the U.S. who use marijuana. We would see overdose rates far higher than they are today if fentanyl was in the marijuana supply.

Do Something

YES WI CAN stop the refer madness in Wisconsin by stopping the spread of misinformation and myths about cannabis. If you see misinformation, say something to correct it.

Only you can put the ACT in Activism and that is no ghost story. Volunteer today.

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