Photo: Perry County Sheriff’s Office
The Perry County Sheriff’s Officesaid in a Facebook postthat twice, a folded dollar bill was found on the floor of a gas station, and a white, powdery substance was discovered inside. The substance was later tested and found to contain methamphetamine and fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin.
“This is very dangerous, folks! Please share and educate your children to not pick up the money,” the sheriff’s office’s post said.
The sheriff, Nick Weems,wrote on Facebookthat he plans to push for legislation “that would intensify the punishment, if someone is caught using money as a carrying pouch for such poison.”
Weems added, “It enrages me as a father and the Sheriff, that people can act so carelessly and have no regard for others well being, especially a child.”
Experts Say Risk of Skin Contact Is Low — But Advise to Wash Hands
However, medical experts have said that because fentanyl doesn’t absorb well into the skin, the risk of intoxication from touching it is very low.
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“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,” states adocument on fentanyl exposurefrom the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
The document recommends those who touch fentanyl to wash their hands immediately.
Dr. Charles McKay, former president of the American College of Medical Toxicology and associate medical director of the Connecticut Poison Control Center,told theHartford Courantearlier this year that it’s extremely unlikely that skin contact with fentanyl would lead to intoxication.
“Proving a negative, as in, this could never be a problem, is potentially difficult. But in this situation, it really isn’t so difficult,” McKay told the paper.
Dr. Suzanne Doyon, medical director of the Connecticut Poison Control Center, told the paper, “I am unaware … of a legitimate, scientifically reviewed, published case report of dermal powder fentanyl exposure resulting in severe toxicity and death.”
source: people.com
