As attitudes toward cannabis shift, the arguments against it do too. In the 1930s, anti-marijuana campaigns often portrayed cannabis use as a cause of violent crime. Nowadays, claims about cannabis being laced with the dangerous opioid fentanyl are circulated in many communities. However, a new study may have debunked this theory.
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The study, published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, tested 118 cannabis samples for 16 illicit substances. This included LSD, methamphetamine, and PCP.
All samples came from the unregulated market and were obtained through drug seizures conducted by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
About 25 of the 118 samples tested positive for trace amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, or MDMA. The researchers believe the presence of these powder-based drugs in the cannabis was due to environmental exposure, not adulteration.
“Intentional spiking appears to be rare,” the authors wrote. “The contamination… most likely arose from poorly cleaned preparation areas and equipment used to weigh and package the cannabis products.”
None of the samples tested positive for fentanyl.
“This study finds no evidence of widespread fentanyl contamination in illicit cannabis,” the paper concludes.
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The research aligns with a 2024 paper that found fentanyl in marijuana is exceedingly rare. That study suggested fentanyl was far more likely to be found in heroin or cocaine.
Some regulators have also sought to address misinformation about fentanyl in weed.
In 2023, the New York Office of Cannabis Management released a fact sheet stating that “there have been zero verified incidents of fentanyl ‘contamination’ in cannabis.”
The fact sheet also notes that purchasing regulated, lab-tested cannabis is the most reliable way to know what a product contains.
While concerns about cannabis remain among some critics, it appears one common argument has evidence stacked against it.
