Fact check: False claim that people in Mississippi are touching laced money and falling ill

BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY
·5 min read

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 USA TODAY it’s “just not possible” for such a reaction to occur through brief exposure with a dangerous substance.

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USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the claim for comment.

"Rainbow fentanyl" pills found at the Nogales Port of Entry in Arizona.
"Rainbow fentanyl" pills found at the Nogales Port of Entry in Arizona.

Similar claims debunked in various places around the country

Melissa Payne, communications director for the city of Jackson, told USA TODAY 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 USA TODAY 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 USA TODAY 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 USA TODAY, 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 USA TODAY it's "just not possible" for a drug like fentanyl to cause such sudden and severe reactions through brief, incidental contact.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claims of drug-laced items harming people around US