Folded Dollar Bills May Contain Fentanyl, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office Warns

A public safety notice issued by the Giles County Sheriff's Department on Facebook about folder dollar bills containing fentanyl, obtained on June 14, 2022. Giles County Sheriff's Department

A Tennessee sheriff’s department has warned the public not to pick up folded dollar bills found on the ground because they may contain fatal amounts of fentanyl.

The Giles County Sheriff’s Department issued a public safety notice after two instances where a folded dollar bill containing the deadly opioid was found and picked up.

“When it was found and picked up, the person discovered a white powdery substance inside. The substance was later tested and was positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl,” the notice stated.

The warning featured a photo of a penny next to a tiny amount of white powder laced with fentanyl that is “more than enough to kill anyone that it comes into contact with.”

“This is a very dangerous issue!” the Giles County Sheriff’s Department warned on Facebook. “Please share and education your children not to pick up any folded money they may find in or around businesses, playgrounds etc., without using great caution and even alerting a parent or guardian.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration states (pdf) that “Inhalation of airborne powder is MOST LIKELY to lead to harmful effects, but is less likely to occur than skin contact” and “is not expected to lead to harmful effects if the contaminated skin is promptly washed off with water.”

A public safety notice issued by the Giles County Sheriff's Department on Facebook about folder dollar bills containing fentanyl, obtained on June 14, 2022. Giles County Sheriff's Department

Record High Fatal Overdoses: CDC

Fentanyl overdoses are happening at rates Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, called “truly staggering.”

“The net effect is that we have many more people, including those who use drugs occasionally and even adolescents, exposed to these potent substances that can cause someone to overdose even with a relatively small exposure,” Volkow said in a statement.

Figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that fatal overdoses in America have reached new heights, peaking at nearly 108,000 in 2021, amid increased usage of fentanyl and methamphetamine.

According to the CDC report, fentanyl was linked to the most (71,238) overdose-related deaths in 2021, while overdose deaths increased 15 percent from 2020 to 2021.

Overdose deaths had already increased by 30 percent between 2019 and 2020, according to the report.

Officials in Montana recently reported an “alarming number“ of fatal overdoses due to fentanyl after eight people died between May 22 and June 1.

One year after Oregon decriminalized drugs, officials there have admitted the experiment has failed after overdoses in just one county jumped by 700 percent. Seizures of fentanyl and opioids have also skyrocketed, along with marijuana.

A 15-month old toddler in California died in May in a house where police found drug paraphernalia and fentanyl, authorities said.

Fentanyl is a dangerous opioid that is reportedly made in China and smuggled via Mexico cartels into the United States. It is sometimes cut into other drugs and is estimated to be upwards of 100 times more potent than morphine, another opioid.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.