Fentanyl Exposure Misinformation Hampers Effective Overdose Response Efforts

Fentanyl Myths Fuel Misguided Policies and Spending Amid Opioid Crisis

Fentanyl, the synthetic opioid at the center of America’s overdose epidemic, has become entangled in a web of misinformation that is influencing policy decisions and public resources allocation nationwide.

False narratives about casual fentanyl exposure have gained traction across social media, news reports, and even popular television dramas. Shows like “Blue Bloods” and “S.W.A.T.” have portrayed characters overdosing or falling seriously ill merely from touching fentanyl powder – scenarios that medical experts consistently debunk.

“It’s only in the TV dramas” where that happens, explains Brandon del Pozo, a retired Burlington, Vermont police chief who researches policing and public health at Brown University.

While fentanyl-related deaths have surged over the past decade, scientific evidence indicates these fatalities almost exclusively result from ingestion, not incidental contact. Most accidental exposures occur when people unknowingly consume fentanyl that has been mixed with other street drugs like heroin or cocaine.

Recent data from the CDC actually shows fentanyl-related deaths beginning to decline. Despite this, the mythology surrounding the drug continues to drive spending decisions across multiple levels of government.

In 2022 and 2023, nineteen local governments across eight states directed over $1 million in opioid settlement funds toward drug detection devices for law enforcement, ostensibly to protect officers from casual exposure. In Greeley, Colorado, two mass spectrometers were purchased for at least $136,000 specifically “to protect those who are tasked with handling those substances.”

Del Pozo considers such expenditures misguided. “If that spending decision is motivated by officer safety concerns, then it’s misspent money,” he notes, explaining that while fentanyl is present in most illicit opioids found at crime scenes, casual contact does not present the risks many believe.

The impact of misinformation extends beyond equipment purchases to shaping criminal statutes. Florida has enacted legislation making it a second-degree felony to cause an overdose or injury to first responders through secondhand fentanyl exposure. Similar bills have been considered in Tennessee and West Virginia, with the latter proposing penalties of 15 years to life imprisonment if such exposure proves fatal.

Public health advocates worry these laws could have unintended consequences, discouraging people from seeking help during overdose emergencies. “A lot of people leave overdose scenes because they don’t want to interact with police,” says Erin Russell, a principal with Health Management Associates.

Even well-intentioned public health campaigns can perpetuate myths. Mississippi’s “One Pill Can Kill” initiative promotes harm reduction tools like naloxone and fentanyl test strips, yet the state’s Attorney General Lynn Fitch has publicly claimed, “If you figure out that pill’s got fentanyl, you better be ready to dispose of it, because you can get it through your fingers” – a statement directly contradicting scientific consensus.

Perhaps most concerning to health experts is how these misconceptions can impede emergency response. First responders increasingly receive warnings about supposed exposure risks that may delay critical interventions like CPR or rescue breathing.

“People are afraid to do rescue breathing because they’re like, ‘Well, what if there’s fentanyl in the person’s mouth,'” Russell explains. Such hesitation, even momentary, could prove fatal during an overdose when seconds matter.

Daniel Meloy, a specialist at the drug recovery organizations Operation 2 Save Lives and QRT National, suggests the problem stems from information gaps rather than deliberate fearmongering. “We’re experiencing it often before the information” can be properly understood and shared by public health and addiction medicine practitioners, he notes.

As communities continue grappling with the opioid epidemic, experts emphasize the importance of basing policies and protocols on scientific evidence rather than dramatic fiction. While proper safety precautions remain important, distinguishing real risks from mythological ones is crucial for effective response to America’s ongoing overdose crisis.