Fact check: False claim that people in Mississippi are touching laced money and falling ill
The claim: People in Jackson, Mississippi, are being harmed by laced money
Picking up a dollar bill from the ground might seem mundane, but recent social media posts suggest that such a simple act could have severe health consequences.
“A fireman in Jackson just informed us that they have responded to several calls where people are picking up money off the ground and then becoming numb,” reads the beginning of the Aug. 25 Facebook post that was shared more than 3,000 times in less than a week. “The money is laced with something and when touching other parts of body they become numb.”
But a city official said there have been no such incidents in the area. Similar claims of laced items harming people in other parts of the country have been debunked, and an expert told Paste BN it’s “just not possible” for such a reaction to occur through brief exposure with a dangerous substance.
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Paste BN reached out to the user who shared the claim for comment.
Similar claims debunked in various places around the country
Melissa Payne, communications director for the city of Jackson, told Paste BN she was aware of the claims but suggested they were nothing other than a “social media hoax.”
“Our firefighters have NOT responded to any calls like this,” Payne said.
Similar claims have circulated in various places across the country in recent weeks.
For instance, in August, there were false claims that fentanyl-laced money was circulating at the Allen County Fair in Ohio, as reported by The Lima News, an Ohio-based newspaper.
More: What is 'rainbow fentanyl?' Nationwide, officials report 'deadly' colorful pills, powder
Troy Elwer, the fair’s promotions and operations manager, told Paste BN there was “zero validity” to the claim. Allen County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Brett Rider, who oversaw fair security, added that there were “no incidents” at the fair.
Bills were found on the midway and turned in, Rider said, and there was “nothing unusual” about the money. Despite that, he said the social media claims prompted some people to report money they found but to avoid picking any bills up.
In July, a woman was hospitalized in Nashville and claimed she was ill because she picked up a fentanyl-laced dollar bill, according to WSMV 4, a local news station. But as Vanderbilt University Medical Center fentanyl expert Dr. Rebecca Donald told the news outlet, it was "really unlikely" fentanyl caused the reaction because brief contact with the drug would not be enough exposure to cause harm.
Sudden and serious reactions are caused by ingesting fentanyl, expert says
An expert told Paste BN that fentanyl-laced items cannot hurt people who incidentally touch such items.
Dr. Lewis Nelson, the chair of emergency medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, said it's "just not possible" for the drug to cause such sudden and serious reactions.
He said you cannot have those responses even when touching fentanyl directly. There have been media reports about law enforcement officers getting sick after touching the drug, and he said those responses are not from the narcotic. “What these often turn out to be are anxiety reactions or normal human responses to unexplainable or stressful situations, whether law enforcement or anybody else," Nelson said.
More: Illicit fentanyl propels overdose deaths in US to new record
Nelson said fentanyl overdoses happen when people take "real amounts" and ingest it through a "practical" route, such as through the nose, mouth or intravenously. Even using fentanyl through such a method wouldn't have the instantaneous effect like those described in social media claims, Nelson said.
Numerous experts, research studies, public health departments and news outlets, including Paste BN, have debunked the idea that fentanyl poses a risk to those who are briefly and incidentally exposed to it.
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that people in Jackson, Mississippi, are being harmed by laced money. A city official said there have been no such reports in the area, and similar claims about laced money in other parts of the country have been debunked. An expert told Paste BN it's "just not possible" for a drug like fentanyl to cause such sudden and severe reactions through brief, incidental contact.
Our fact-check sources:
- Melissa Payne, Sept. 1, Text message to Paste BN
- Lewis Nelson, Aug. 24, Phone call with Paste BN
- The Lima News, Aug. 24, Sheriff dispels rumors of fentanyl-laced money on fairgrounds
- Brett Rider, Aug. 23, Phone call with Paste BN
- Troy Elwer, Aug. 23, Phone call with Paste BN
- Science.org, July 15, Fainting From Fentanyl Exposure? Nope.
- WSMV4, July 11, Woman hospitalized after touching dollar bill she believes contained fentanyl
- The San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, Police officers say they’re overdosing from fentanyl exposure. What’s really going on?
- Health & Justice, Nov. 24, 2021, Can touch this: training to correct police officer beliefs about overdose from incidental contact with fentanyl
2021 - Paste BN, Aug. 25, 2021, Fact check: Drug overdose from limited fentanyl contact not possible, experts say
- NBC News, Aug. 7, 2021, Viral video of San Diego deputy's fentanyl exposure raises questions
- North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, December 2017, Fentanyl Safety for First Responders
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