Is It Physical Assault to “Expose” Someone to Fentanyl?

Jeffrey A. SingerAlmost every week,reports appear in the local news describing how police officers, exposed to fentanyl in the air or by contact, lose consciousness and need reviving with the opioid overdose antidote naloxone. Their coworkers take them to a nearby emergency room, where they are evaluated and released.This unscientific hysteria reached a new level when police near Wilmington, North Carolina, addedassault charges to a suspect they arrested and charged with possessing and trafficking heroin, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. Police added the assault charges because the suspect tossed the drugs out of the car, “exposing two detectives and a deputy, causing the detective to lose consciousness. ” The detective was administered naloxone, and all three were taken to an emergency room and were later released.According to a 2017report from the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) and the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT),At the highest airborne concentration encountered by workers, an unprotected individual would require nearly 200 minutes of exposure to reach a dose of 100 mcg of fentanyl. The vapor pressure of fentanyl is very low …suggesting that evaporation of standing product into a gaseous phase is not a practical concern.The urbanmythpersists that even minimal skin contact with fentanyl or an analog can cause a drug overdose. Becausefentanylisnot easily absorbed through the skin, it t...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs