# Severe toxicity from casual fentanyl exposure? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 7, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186 "2021-08-07T12:48:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/1 "2021-08-07T12:48:46Z")
Yet another story about a law enforcement officer’s severe symptoms, purportedly from exposure to fentanyl. > **[Sheriff's deputy overdoses after exposure to fentanyl during arrest](https://abcnews.go.com/US/sheriffs-deputy-overdoses-exposure-fentanyl-arrest/story?id=79324033)** > > The video was released by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department to promote public safety. There have been numerous accounts of this type, disputed by addiction experts who note that lots of people involved in handling and trafficking fentanyl aren’t suffering similar consequences. “Fentanyl panic has real-world consequences. Professional responders and witnesses may delay overdose intervention to avoid perceived potential health risks to themselves ([Nelson & Perrone, 2018](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7492952/#bib0011)). Inaccurate risk perception can contribute to unnecessary stress and other mental health issues. Misinformation can also engender counterproductive policies, including hyper-punitive responses, unnecessary expenditures, and pharmaceutical over-regulation ([Dasgupta et al., 2018]” > **[Fentanyl panic goes viral: The spread of misinformation about overdose risk...](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7492952/)** > > Fueled by misinformation, fentanyl panic has harmed public health through complicating overdose rescue while rationalizing hyper-punitive criminal laws, wasteful expenditures, and proposals to curtail vital access to pain pharmacotherapy. To assess... Are real hazards of casual fentanyl exposure being overlooked? Or do the news media have an obligation to report these stories more skeptically? \*noting that the FDA has warned of severe injury and death resulting from children getting ahold of medical fentanyl patches and putting them on their skin and in their mouths, which sounds like a more realistic risk. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/2 "2021-08-07T14:29:44Z")
It’s not even close. -1 ABC News +1 PubMed ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/4 "2021-08-07T16:20:05Z")
Don’t worry! The sheriff’s department [has a highly convincing evidence-based response](https://twitter.com/SDSheriff/status/1423487050250997767) to all of the requests for more information: “We know what factually happened and our deputy almost died from a fentanyl exposure. This is a deadly substance!” They _know_, and that’s good enough for them and it’s good enough for all of the headline-writers. So there. [This article](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-08-06/im-not-going-to-let-you-die-deputy-overdoses-after-coming-in-contact-with-fentanyl) gives a clue as to what probably actually happened: > [@](#): > > With body-worn cameras rolling, Faiivae’s training officer tells Faiivae the substance he found had tested positive for fentanyl. He cautions his trainee “that stuff’s no joke — it is super dangerous.” Faiivae then takes a step backward and topples over. They trained this guy all the way into having a panic attack. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/5 "2021-08-07T16:25:24Z")
Maybe he pulled that TV cop move of licking his finger, sticking it in a baggie of unknown white powder then licking it off to identify the substance. Because with some types of fentanyl, that could absolutely give you a fatal dose. There’s plenty of cops stupid enough to try that move to look cool. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/6 "2021-08-07T19:31:07Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > They trained this guy all the way into having a panic attack. Which, IMHO, is how we end up with so many shootings by police. They are literally scared out of their senses, due to their training that tells them that everything and everyone is out to kill them all of the time every day 24/7/365. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/7 "2021-08-15T02:21:20Z")
Fentanyl is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Something the size of a grain of sand could kill you. I would expect some kind of toxicology test to see if someone was exposed. What is interesting, the use of Naloxone as a counter to a suspected overdose of opioids does not harm a person if they are NOT overdosing from opioids. So you wouldn’t know at the time of it’s use that there was a overdose in progress. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/8 "2021-08-15T02:58:07Z")
> Skin exposure is not expected to lead to toxicity due to its extremely poor penetration of the skin barrier, and symptoms of intoxication from skin exposure are unlikely. [https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ncdhhs.gov/media/1740/download&ved=2ahUKEwjwldSZg7LyAhWpB50JHQcZBTkQFnoECAwQBg&usg=AOvVaw02AeAiMR-o98piOmRygDer](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.ncdhhs.gov/media/1740/download&ved=2ahUKEwjwldSZg7LyAhWpB50JHQcZBTkQFnoECAwQBg&usg=AOvVaw02AeAiMR-o98piOmRygDer) (PDF from NC Dept of Health and Human Services) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/9 "2021-08-15T14:18:41Z")
Yah, I would think it would need to be inhaled or ingested. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/10 "2021-08-16T14:06:06Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Which, IMHO, is how we end up with so many shootings by police. They are literally scared out of their senses, due to their training that tells them that everything and everyone is out to kill them all of the time every day 24/7/365. This one was so bad that an EMT had to take his gun away from him. After several minutes of increasing paranoia over an unseen and possibly nonexistent threat, he really comes unglued at about 5:30: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YkGmcWGokWw/maxresdefault.jpg "Bodycam video shows shots fired by SCSO deputy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkGmcWGokWw&t=315) Not hard to imagine a cop, upon being told he was handling Fentanyl, could become so overwhelmed with anxiety and fear that he fainted dead away. That he recovered shortly after receiving Narcan is merely an annoying coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/11 "2021-08-16T17:35:38Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Fentanyl is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine. Something the size of a grain of sand could kill you. Not to be nitpicky, but the average grain of sand weighs about 0.05 mg, while a commonly accepted fatal dose of fentanyl for an individual who lacks tolerance is 2-3 mg. So (scratches head, carries a digit or two) a fatal dose is at least 40 grains of sand. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/12 "2021-08-16T18:42:24Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Not to be nitpicky, but the average grain of sand weighs about 0.05 mg, while a commonly accepted fatal dose of fentanyl for an individual who lacks tolerance is 2-3 mg. So (scratches head, carries a digit or two) a fatal dose is at least 40 grains of sand. I’d only heard the “grain of sand” thing re: analogues like carfentanil, furanylfentanyl, etc., which are supposedly much more potent. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/13 "2022-03-12T15:47:54Z")
Looks like “it” may have happened again: > [@](#): > > Four are thought to have used cocaine laced with the powerful synthetic opioid that has a potency dozens of times stronger than morphine, Gollan said, according to the station. > > The other two overdosed when they tried to administer CPR and were exposed to the drug, Gollan said. [ETA: though the circumstance of administering CPR **could** create a plausible scenario … I would guess] > **[Arrest made in mass fentanyl overdose 'involving' West Point cadets on spring...](https://news.yahoo.com/west-point-cadets-involved-mass-000718539.html)** > > One person has been arrested after a group of spring breakers from West Point suffered a mass fentanyl overdose at a vacation rental in Florida, authorities ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/14 "2022-03-12T16:47:44Z")
Why did it ‘involve’ WP Cadets instead of involving them? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/15 "2022-03-12T17:21:28Z")
That’s an ‘excellent question.’ ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2022, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/16 "2022-03-12T17:55:45Z")
Alright … giving the benefit of the doubt here … this is from the above-linked article: [bolding mine] > In a statement earlier, the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. said it was **“aware of the situation involving West Point cadets”** that occurred in Wilton Manors on Thursday night. So maybe snipping a particular word from a quote, as they did, justifies _putting that word in quotes._ Maybe 😉 I’m not going to the APA or Strunk & White to check on this 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2022, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/17 "2022-03-13T00:36:34Z")
When I was in pharmacy school in the early 1990s, carfentanil was mentioned, only so we would know about scheduled veterinary drugs. It is literally “elephant tranquilizer”, because it is so potent, and it’s very, very hard to obtain legally. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/18 "2022-07-21T12:50:02Z")
Another take on the merely-touching-a-few-grains-of-fentanyl-can-kill-you meme: > **[What are the risks of touching fentanyl?](https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-are-the-risks-of-touching-fentanyl/)** > > There is the widespread belief that simply touching fentanyl can be fatal. This assumption isn't supported by science or evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/19 "2022-07-21T14:00:57Z")
FYI, here is an article (gift link) from The New York Times Magazine earlier this month about the myth of brief fentanyl exposure causing overdoses. It suggests that the fear might cause first responders not to aid people undergoing overdoses. > **[What’s Really Going on in Those Police Fentanyl Exposure Videos?](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/13/magazine/police-fentanyl-exposure-videos.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuomT1JKd6J17Vw1cRCfTTMQmqxCdw_PIxftm3iWka3DKDm8ZiOEcDIGS-kHAIrJkY9o40nGVSdldObk-QLl_3vdYJFF3Rky2o5eJn49DIzkwrcj7eFIK6K_3fOJy9y72PC7-If1jxba7slXfPGG5WaGP0WkhIgthvZdvc1u1iXxYz7PDEbUjjoEu2a1xAppqVHxXMnnxyvrrAhh8PNmUPFqLukRtBbYvCXyElsWc6rkAbAxXFVnFKXt-6mo249pWU8gFaOe9d1VzPZqj3shCTzBgP4yrBJYuRonLlLwMsbTFrR2Eycve1Oydry3BV9NT0ldbF3zmFUfq&smid=url-share)** > > It’s nearly impossible for an overdose to be caused by brief contact with the drug. It is possible these videos will worsen the danger for those truly at risk. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/20 "2022-07-21T15:32:39Z")
That story rightly points out that unfounded fears of exposure to first responders are potentially putting overdose victims at greater risk. But there is also a nasty little subtext of resentment at the idea of police officers being portrayed sympathetically. > [@](#): > > The human misery of today’s overdose crisis is largely hidden from view “Hidden from view”? There’s been a ton of reporting on the spike in overdoses, including [in the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/11/us/politics/overdose-deaths-fentanyl-meth.html). > [@](#): > > …and it is certainly not centered on the police Has anyone claimed that it is? > [@](#): > > The story from Kansas City reported that, before the officer collapsed, he was on his way to deliver food to families in need at a local church. Suddenly, he and his fellow officers were dispatched to a burglary, where they found a few pills on the suspect — someone, perhaps, who turned to theft to sustain a drug addiction. This is a story that makes the police sound brave and sympathetic, but its central question remains obscured: What are they really so afraid of? “Suddenly”? Police officers, like other humans, can be buffaloed into perceiving dangers that are nonexistent or way overhyped. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186/21 "2022-07-21T18:06:31Z")
Coincidentally I just listened to the May 24, 2019 Radiolab episode about EMTs supposedly absorbing fentanyl through the skin. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/severe-toxicity-from-casual-fentanyl-exposure/948186.md?page=2)