Esp when you consider that most street drugs are laced with fentanyl/carfentanil.

I’ve been wondering how this could make sense as I’ve seen it claimed more and more often (feels very similar to the original war on drugs hysteria of the 80s and 90s), and I admit I haven’t looked too deeply, but it seems this is once again something being overblown due to the war on drugs.

**But according to experts, nationwide drug studies, and the DEA’s own data, fentanyl contamination in non-opioid drug supplies is exceedingly rare, and largely centered on a specific, highly-vulnerable subset of users. **Critics say this is why the alarm raised by health officials and law enforcement is so concerning: Authorities stoking broad, misleading fears of fentanyl poisoning the non-opioid drug supply marks a damaging mission creep in the battle to stem the opioid crisis. As we’ve seen previously in the War on Drugs, narratives based on fear, not data, distract policy makers, public health advocates, and even first responders away from those who are at real risk.

There is lots more info on the article linked, I just cherrypicked these two summary statements.

So why the misleading claims about recreational coke and cannabis users being at such a high risk?

On one hand, public health officials are doing what they’re meant to do: warn the public about health risks. On the other, the scale of the concern around fentanyl contaminating the entire US drug supply is a very familiar narrative in the War on Drugs: the belief that dealers are governed not by economics but by malice, that users are helpless addicts, and that drug eradication is the only solution to these problems.

There’s far more detail in the article.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/8xyzkp/the-truth-about-drug-dealers-lacing-cocaine-with-fentanyl