Marijuana laced with FENTANYL surges in US, doctors warn after drug cocktail arrests
Marijuana laced with fentanyl is on the rise in the US, a Washington doctor warned, after cases of the drug cocktail were found in New York, Alabama, Illinois and Louisiana.
Fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid that is 100 times stronger than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin, is increasingly being mixed with other substances to make them more potent at a low cost.
Just two milligrams of fentanyl β imagine 10 to 15 grains of table salt β can kill, and staggering numbers showed it kills the equivalent of an entire classroom of children each week.
Meanwhile, a wave of marijuana legalizations across the country has led to competition over who can get the most potent strain of the drug, putting young people at risk.
In 1999, about 5 percent of 175 opioid-related deaths were due to fentanyl. In 2021, 1557 (94 percent) of 1657 opioid deaths were attributed to fentanyl
The number of deaths from fentanyl in the US increased sharply in the 2010s. At the beginning of the decade, 2,666 Americans died of fentanyl overdose. This figure rose to 19,413 in 2016. Covid made the situation even worse, with a record 72,484 deaths recorded in 2021
Dr. Michael Wenzinger, a staff psychiatrist at Washington University School of Medicine, told KTVI Fox2 on Sunday, “In my clinical practice and with some of my peers, we are seeing more kids who report thinking they were just smoking marijuana when drug screens show fentanyl. – and they would have toxicological or medical side effects consistent with that.β
He added that marijuana itself has gone from strength to strength in recent years.
Dr. Wenzinger said, “This is going to be kind of an accidental experiment of, ‘How does this potent marijuana affect young people?'”
He added, βThe marijuana they’ve been used to since childhood isn’t what we’re dealing with now. We’re dealing with an almost different ball game of potency.’
The concentration of THC β the main psychoactive component of cannabis β increased by more than 200 percent between 1995 and 2015.
One concern is that the mental health problems could get worse.
Cases of schizophrenia in men ages 21 to 30 could have been prevented by up to 30 percent without consistent marijuana use, according to a study published this month in the journal Psychological Medicine.
And now there’s the new phenomenon of marijuana being laced with fentanyl. Whether intentionally or accidentally mixed by dealers, it is a cause for concern.
This photo, taken by the Phoenix Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, shows some of the 30,000 fentanyl pills the agency seized in August 2017 in one of its larger arrests in Tempe, Arizona. The photo shows only one of four plastic containers that were filled with the tablets
Experts warned of America’s rapid move to legalize cannabis, particularly for young people
Pictured: Zach Corona, 13, alive after being poisoned by the opioid fentanyl
Police have claimed to have found marijuana containing fentanyl in Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana and New York.
Fentanyl flows into the US from Mexico and China and is relatively easy to smuggle across the border.
It is also cost effective for dealers to mix it into their inventory, saving them money and can prolong or amplify the high experienced by users.
Dr. Wenzinger said parents should be made aware that the drug is completely different from what they smoked as teenagers.
While he didn’t want to create panic, he said parents need to talk about the risks of using marijuana with their children amid the wave of legalizations.
A mother claimed her “straight-A” schoolboy suffered brain damage after bullies forced him to smoke a marijuana vape that turned out to be laced with deadly fentanyl.
Lynda Amos said son Zach Corona, both of Dalton, Georgia, “will never be the same again” as she claimed the vape, which was hidden in his underwear, caused a stroke from being laced with the drug.
The 45-year-old mother of five was shocked to discover her 13-year-old boy passed out on their lounge chair at 6pm on January 1 after complaining of chest pains.
Zach was found unconscious by 12-year-old sister Katie Amos, who at first thought her brother was “playing” until she tried to tickle him and he became unresponsive.
Lynda quickly called an ambulance, and Zach reached Children’s Hospital in Erlanger, Tennessee, half an hour later, where he was flatlined minutes after arriving.
Doctors confirmed that Zach suffered a stroke and was put on life support after his CPR.
Lynda had “no idea” why her son had continued to fight for his life – until doctors cut his clothes off and found a vape pen laced with lethal opioid fentanyl, along with marijuana.
After waking up from the coma more than two weeks later, the 13-year-old claimed he got the vape from a group of kids, who made him smoke it in front of him.
Figures show that the number of Americans who have marijuana in their system when attempting suicide is growing at an alarming 17 percent a year β and the trend is fueled by an increase in young people.
On average, today’s marijuana contains three times as much THC – the psychoactive compound in weed that gets users high and causes feelings of paranoia – as did the strains 25 years ago.
And it’s easier to get than ever. In major cities like New York, LA, and Denver, you can’t walk a single block without passing a smoke shop that sells a dizzying array of highly concentrated THC edibles and vapes.
Just this month, the San Diego Border Patrol arrested three drug smugglers for trying to smuggle $3 million worth of fentanyl from Mexico, enough to kill 50 million Americans.
On Feb. 27, the San Diego Border Patrol seized 232 pounds of fentanyl during a traffic stop in San Clemente, California, about 75 miles from the US-Mexico border.
Some According to the police, 12,500 kilos of fentanyl have been seized since October last year Fox news.