To the editor:

In the March 21 edition of the Barrington Times, Dr. Kristen Westmoreland of the Bay Team is quoted regarding the connection between marijuana and fentanyl. The paragraph goes on to mention people who had used marijuana laced with fentanyl. Reports of such drug mixtures are urban legend with no basis in fact. 

The origin appears to be a mistaken fire department report in Painesville, Ohio, which described several unresponsive individuals who had used only marijuana. Upon further investigation, all had also been using opioids as well. The original report was withdrawn by the department. A similar scenario played out in London, Ontario as well as other locations. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio has spent a great deal of time repeating this false claim.

Although there are many validated cases of fake prescription pills and cocaine laced with fentanyl, neither the federal Drug Enforcement Administration nor the National Institute on Drug Abuse support the claims of fentanyl-laced marijuana. In a couple of minutes, our teens can figure out that the claim attributed to Dr. Westmoreland in the Barrington Times is fake news. Nothing destroys a good message than a messenger who turns out to be incorrect. In the same vein, the Barrington Times ought to do some fact checking.

There are good reasons to prevent or delay substance use onset. Giving youth false information is a bad way to accomplish this goal. If there is anything we have learned in past decades regarding substance use prevention, it is that lies (and scare tactics based on lies) are counterproductive.

Ronald Seifer

Barrington