As a number of people have suggested, this whole canard is basically about boosting the assertion of various LEOs and firefighters that they once touched a suspect who had fentanyl in his pocket or something and started feeling all sick and almost died. It doesn't matter how many times doctors and scientists explain that it's not possible for fentanyl to have affected you that way, they're still out there making these claims. Or making up fake stories about kids dying from touching fentanyl, apparently.
"Lisa's Story" is calculated to make a bunch more cops who've touched fentanyl have panic attacks because they think they're dying from fentanyl but it's actually the panic attack making them feel that way.
Maybe they should have used the old "high babysitter puts the baby in the microwave" story, which came about when "Reffer Madness" had the opposite effect of its purpose.
The season premier of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (aka, we promise Stabler violates way fewer civil rights now... Still a lot of them, just way fewer than he used to...) had members of their team just entering a room with fentanyl and overdosing. Just a ridiculous, ridiculous repeated plot point (don't worry though the giant bad guy with a machete was able to sit in that very same room for hours with no ill effects)
In 10th grade biology class, 1970, we got a filmstrip (it's like a PowerPoint) about LSD. They showed pictures of infants with hands growing out of their shoulders and feet growing out of their hips. We were told that these children were born to parents who, one or both, had taken LSD 24 hours before conception.
A few years later, in college, I found out those pictures were thalidomide babies from the 50's. Of course, the first time I was offered acid, I didn't hesitate. I figured that, if this stuff was in any way dangerous, the government would have told me that instead of lying to me to scare me into not using it.
This fake fentanyl melodrama is pretty stupid, and useful education doesn’t start with misinformation that many people will recognize as ridiculous fear-mongering. The opioid epidemic IS a crisis, and it’s a very complex one. Naturally, the simplest political and public relations path to a “solution” is scorched earth obliteration of all opioids. This is a huge mistake. About 10 million people in the world die from cancer each year. Many forms of cancer involve intractable pain. And that’s just cancer. Chronic pain conditions affect millions of people at any given time. Some non-opioid methods do work. Others do not. Whatever the “war on opioids” looks like, the legitimate treatment of pain with opioids should be protected at all costs. Unfortunately, the epidemic and reaction by the government and legal system has had a chilling effect on many medical professionals. Many see the risks of either abuse by patients or wrongful accusations of pill-pushing outweigh the benefit of using them at all. Others simply underprescribe. My mother is 76 and suffers from several conditions, including intense knee pain. She’s prescribed Norco, a hydrocodone/tylenol product and relatively mild opioid compared to Oxycodone, Dilaudid, Fentanyl, etc. Her doctor has admitted to anxiety about prescribing it at all. My mom takes less than she probably needs, and refuses any pain relief in the hospital for fear of being labeled a drug seeker. I understand it all too well. I’ve gone around and around with opioids for 15 years until finally getting clean in 2016. But I seldom needed those meds. I just wanted them. Despite my own nightmare with them, I still defend any legitimate use that relieves pain or suffering. Acute pain can be very difficult to treat, and agony to experience. If my time comes and I’m suffering from a painful condition, I sure as hell hope my doctors have those tools in their medicine bag. Falsehoods about opioids won’t help. But the fentanyl crisis is horrifying. As if heroin or Oxy addicts needed another deadly risk to contend with. I understand another terrifying drug has arrived on the streets - a large animal tranquilizer that quickly produces addiction and withdraws are the worst hospitals have ever seen. Even Narcan and Buprenorphine are useless, as the drug isn’t an opiate. It’s scary out there.
Thanks for this Robyn. This topic is a particular bugaboo that really pisses me off. YouTube and the internet are filled with stories, many involving cops, where someone in the proximity of fentanyl passes out and needs to be rescued because of a supposed overdose. It's supposedly from absorption through the skin or inhalation of an aerosol from the powder and it's complete bullshit.
Whenever possible I share this YouTube video of a U.C. Davis ER doctor dispelling the myths propagated by law enforcement and other alarmists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyNbZjg4bYY
Ta, Robyn. I'm a harm reductionist who never leaves the house without naloxone (Narcan™) and a few years back had to use it to reverse a fentanyl overdose. I don't remember which training it was, but someone who attended claimed touching the corpses of people who OD'd on carfentanyl (a relative) would give one an overdose. Keep it in hospitals where it belongs.
Deliberate lies going back to at least 1968. https://www.vera.org/reimagining-prison-webumentary/the-past-is-never-dead/drug-war-confessional
I think I remember years ago Richard Dawkins did a PSA with Ricky Gervais about how touching a Bible gave you super cancer.
Polonium... now that's a different matter. "Don't touch it! It's ee-vill-!"
It's not fissile. It don't raise your missile. High tea? Get the fuck straight outta here.
As a number of people have suggested, this whole canard is basically about boosting the assertion of various LEOs and firefighters that they once touched a suspect who had fentanyl in his pocket or something and started feeling all sick and almost died. It doesn't matter how many times doctors and scientists explain that it's not possible for fentanyl to have affected you that way, they're still out there making these claims. Or making up fake stories about kids dying from touching fentanyl, apparently.
"Lisa's Story" is calculated to make a bunch more cops who've touched fentanyl have panic attacks because they think they're dying from fentanyl but it's actually the panic attack making them feel that way.
Maybe they should have used the old "high babysitter puts the baby in the microwave" story, which came about when "Reffer Madness" had the opposite effect of its purpose.
Fentanyl in a hospital setting is a good thing. They gave me some preop for spinal surgery and the pain all went away.
And then they wonder why anti-drug propaganda doesn't work. They've been caught lying too many times.
And people wonder why people don't trust the government..."sure we're lying to people but it's for their own good!"
The real stories are probably all adults who are poor and on drugs and not cute little six year olds innocently going to the park.
That is why they lied.
The season premier of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (aka, we promise Stabler violates way fewer civil rights now... Still a lot of them, just way fewer than he used to...) had members of their team just entering a room with fentanyl and overdosing. Just a ridiculous, ridiculous repeated plot point (don't worry though the giant bad guy with a machete was able to sit in that very same room for hours with no ill effects)
Dick Wolf’s little anti defense lawyers show is still going strong,eh?
It's starting to rival the MCU...
😂
In 10th grade biology class, 1970, we got a filmstrip (it's like a PowerPoint) about LSD. They showed pictures of infants with hands growing out of their shoulders and feet growing out of their hips. We were told that these children were born to parents who, one or both, had taken LSD 24 hours before conception.
A few years later, in college, I found out those pictures were thalidomide babies from the 50's. Of course, the first time I was offered acid, I didn't hesitate. I figured that, if this stuff was in any way dangerous, the government would have told me that instead of lying to me to scare me into not using it.
This fake fentanyl melodrama is pretty stupid, and useful education doesn’t start with misinformation that many people will recognize as ridiculous fear-mongering. The opioid epidemic IS a crisis, and it’s a very complex one. Naturally, the simplest political and public relations path to a “solution” is scorched earth obliteration of all opioids. This is a huge mistake. About 10 million people in the world die from cancer each year. Many forms of cancer involve intractable pain. And that’s just cancer. Chronic pain conditions affect millions of people at any given time. Some non-opioid methods do work. Others do not. Whatever the “war on opioids” looks like, the legitimate treatment of pain with opioids should be protected at all costs. Unfortunately, the epidemic and reaction by the government and legal system has had a chilling effect on many medical professionals. Many see the risks of either abuse by patients or wrongful accusations of pill-pushing outweigh the benefit of using them at all. Others simply underprescribe. My mother is 76 and suffers from several conditions, including intense knee pain. She’s prescribed Norco, a hydrocodone/tylenol product and relatively mild opioid compared to Oxycodone, Dilaudid, Fentanyl, etc. Her doctor has admitted to anxiety about prescribing it at all. My mom takes less than she probably needs, and refuses any pain relief in the hospital for fear of being labeled a drug seeker. I understand it all too well. I’ve gone around and around with opioids for 15 years until finally getting clean in 2016. But I seldom needed those meds. I just wanted them. Despite my own nightmare with them, I still defend any legitimate use that relieves pain or suffering. Acute pain can be very difficult to treat, and agony to experience. If my time comes and I’m suffering from a painful condition, I sure as hell hope my doctors have those tools in their medicine bag. Falsehoods about opioids won’t help. But the fentanyl crisis is horrifying. As if heroin or Oxy addicts needed another deadly risk to contend with. I understand another terrifying drug has arrived on the streets - a large animal tranquilizer that quickly produces addiction and withdraws are the worst hospitals have ever seen. Even Narcan and Buprenorphine are useless, as the drug isn’t an opiate. It’s scary out there.
Thanks for this Robyn. This topic is a particular bugaboo that really pisses me off. YouTube and the internet are filled with stories, many involving cops, where someone in the proximity of fentanyl passes out and needs to be rescued because of a supposed overdose. It's supposedly from absorption through the skin or inhalation of an aerosol from the powder and it's complete bullshit.
Whenever possible I share this YouTube video of a U.C. Davis ER doctor dispelling the myths propagated by law enforcement and other alarmists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyNbZjg4bYY
Thank you for posting that link. Unfortunately, fentanyl has given cops something additional to lie about and be dramatic martyrs for encountering.
Thank you Robyn. It's too bad that stating the obvious won't be seen by the people who need to see the obvious.
Ta, Robyn. I'm a harm reductionist who never leaves the house without naloxone (Narcan™) and a few years back had to use it to reverse a fentanyl overdose. I don't remember which training it was, but someone who attended claimed touching the corpses of people who OD'd on carfentanyl (a relative) would give one an overdose. Keep it in hospitals where it belongs.