Update - no Fentanyl - flyers posted on HCSO vehicles

[03Lightningrocks]

Surely there is video surveillance of that parking lot. The mystery should be over pretty fast.

[Scott B.]

Read the Slate article. Read the DEA brief.

Only thing I do know for certain, opioid OD rates are way up.

[03Lightningrocks]

Maybe keep us updated on the final outcome. I just can't believe they don't have this on video tape. It is pretty darn obvious if someone is traveling car to car sticking fliers on the windows.

[BBYC]

Did I read that right? It looks like they confessed to DWI.

I'm interested what the hospital blood tests show.

[puma guy]

Hmmm...color me skeptical. ThIs has urban legend/hoax/misinterpretation written all over it. Snopes, in discussing a similar hoax/panic, the Green incident, points out "Neither fentanyl nor even its uber-potent cousin carfentanil (two of the most powerful opioids known to humanity) can cause clinically significant effects, let alone near-death experiences, from mere skin exposure. If Green’s story is true, it would be the first reported case of an overdose caused solely by unintentional skin contact with an opioid."
I'll be interested to hear the results of any actual chemical analysis of the flyers.

From the DEA:
Fentanyl-related substances are designed to be absorbed into the body by all means, including injection, oral ingestion, contact with mucous membranes, inhalation, and via transdermal transmission (through the skin). As such, accidental exposure by first responders is a real danger.

From the CDC:
ROUTES OF EXPOSURE: Fentanyl can be absorbed into the body via inhalation, oral exposure or ingestion, or skin contact. It is not known whether fentanyl can be absorbed systemically through the eye. Fentanyl can be administered intravenously (IV), intramuscularly (IM), or as a skin patch (transdermally).

The problem with Snope's claim is that it doesn't take other factors in account. Does the person touching the contaminated object have a cut or wound on the hand they are touching it with? Or, if the wound is elsewhere on the body, did they then rub or scratch that area with the hand that had been exposed? Did any of the powder become airborne and, therefore inhaled, when the object was picked up? We can go all day with situations like this. And none of the tests that doctors can run will be able to prove anything more than "the individual touched an object that was laced with fentanyl/carfentanil and exhibited symptoms of an overdose".

The problem with Snopes is........it's Snopes!

[03Lightningrocks]

Maybe she has a drug problem and she set this up because she knew she would fell the monthly drug test.

[Flightmare]

Hmmm...color me skeptical. ThIs has urban legend/hoax/misinterpretation written all over it. Snopes, in discussing a similar hoax/panic, the Green incident, points out "Neither fentanyl nor even its uber-potent cousin carfentanil (two of the most powerful opioids known to humanity) can cause clinically significant effects, let alone near-death experiences, from mere skin exposure. If Green’s story is true, it would be the first reported case of an overdose caused solely by unintentional skin contact with an opioid."
I'll be interested to hear the results of any actual chemical analysis of the flyers.

From the DEA:
Fentanyl-related substances are designed to be absorbed into the body by all means, including injection, oral ingestion, contact with mucous membranes, inhalation, and via transdermal transmission (through the skin). As such, accidental exposure by first responders is a real danger.

From the CDC:
ROUTES OF EXPOSURE: Fentanyl can be absorbed into the body via inhalation, oral exposure or ingestion, or skin contact. It is not known whether fentanyl can be absorbed systemically through the eye. Fentanyl can be administered intravenously (IV), intramuscularly (IM), or as a skin patch (transdermally).

The problem with Snope's claim is that it doesn't take other factors in account. Does the person touching the contaminated object have a cut or wound on the hand they are touching it with? Or, if the wound is elsewhere on the body, did they then rub or scratch that area with the hand that had been exposed? Did any of the powder become airborne and, therefore inhaled, when the object was picked up? We can go all day with situations like this. And none of the tests that doctors can run will be able to prove anything more than "the individual touched an object that was laced with fentanyl/carfentanil and exhibited symptoms of an overdose".

The problem with Snopes is........it's Snopes!

[03Lightningrocks]

[ninjabread]

I'm also very interested what the lab results say about the paper and the deputy tox screen.

I wonder if we'll ever find out or if it's fake news and they try to bury it.

[Scott B.]

They're reporting no traces of Fentanyl found after lab tests. In conversation over recent days w/ some folks in the know, they were skeptical from the get go.

https://local.nixle.com/alert/6654640/

June 29, 2018 – Lab tests on flyers that were placed on vehicles belonging to Harris County Sheriff’s Office employees on Tuesday have yielded no evidence of Fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid, according to The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS).

Final results of all testing were provided to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office on Friday morning. In addition to testing the 13 flyers, the HCIFS also tested clothing items, and blood and urine samples collected from a Sheriff’s Office sergeant who reported symptoms consistent with Fentanyl exposure. Those tests also were negative for the drug.

The flyers were found on HCSO employee vehicles parked in the 600 block of Lockwood on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 26. A sergeant removed a flyer from her windshield and placed it inside her vehicle as she drove away. After driving a few miles, the sergeant began experiencing symptoms that included a tingling sensation, dizziness, impaired vision, and a headache. The sergeant then stopped her vehicle, notified the Sheriff’s Office, and requested medical assistance. She was examined at a hospital and released later on Tuesday.

Suspecting that the flyers might have been contaminated, Sheriff’s Office personnel conducted a field test on a flyer left on another vehicle. The results of that test indicated the presence of Fentanyl. All flyers were then removed from vehicles and collected into evidence for further testing in a controlled, laboratory environment. This is standard procedure, because while narcotics field tests are a valuable tool for law enforcement, controlled laboratory testing conducted by trained, expert analysts is the most reliable form of analysis.

Out of an abundance of caution, the Sheriff’s Office immediately advised the public and other law enforcement agencies on Tuesday to avoid exposure to any flyers that may be left on vehicles.

Now that the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences has completed all testing, the Sheriff’s Office is following up with the public and other law enforcement agencies with the results. The Sheriff’s Office is also working to verify that deputies have access to the most reliable field testing kits available.

At this time, the Sheriff’s Office has not questioned any persons of interest in the case, and no criminal charges have been filed.

[RSX11]

....as I predicted....

[03Lightningrocks]

....as I predicted....

Yep... It sounded like baloney right from the start.

[Odinvalknir]

When I first heard this story I knew it was bull. Even though fentanyl is made to be absorbed through the skin there was no way he got an overdose amount just from touching a flyer. More than likely the cop is either addicted to pain pills or something and got some of the fentanyl laced pain pills off of his dealer or he is a junkie.

[Allons]

....as I predicted....

Say it ain't so.

[Scott B.]

When I first heard this story I knew it was bull. Even though fentanyl is made to be absorbed through the skin there was no way he got an overdose amount just from touching a flyer. More than likely the cop is either addicted to pain pills or something and got some of the fentanyl laced pain pills off of his dealer or he is a junkie.

Let's not emulate the news and speculate wildly absent any facts. The officer may have had a medical issue or simply believed it to the point where it made her ill.