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jmdunkle t1_jahl1gz wrote

The article headline and post title aren't exactly true though are they? Fentanyl was detected by sensitive equipment, but not by lab testing that [theoretically] has a lower threshold for detection. I know everyone here is getting defensive because we don't want our fun, legal high to go away, but isn't anyone concerned that any fentanyl was discovered in these gummies? There should be zero. Not a very small amount or so little that you couldn't possible get high off of it... zero. Fentanyl being where it shouldn't be is deadly. I've had a close friend die from fentanyl-laced heroin. It's no joke. This is why we need this market to be regulated.

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Karrius12 t1_jahnoe4 wrote

Sensitive equipment has to be used properly, or else you get false positives.

I want you to think about a dollar bill for a second. Just your average dollar bill.

Chances are, it has some cocaine on it.

That dollar bill has 20,000x the amount of cocaine on it than what the police are claiming they tested on the gummies. 20,000x!

Forensic science, especially in the hands of the cops, is fake more often then not. Real analytical chemists never make the kind of statements those in law enforcement do. We also understand our equipment and detection limits.

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Diarygirl t1_jahsg6c wrote

I blame shows like CSI for people's misunderstanding of this.

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Karrius12 t1_jahy2bt wrote

Absolutely same, but also the way forensic science is abused by the legal system is to blame here, too. So much of it is literally fake

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jmdunkle t1_jahnyok wrote

I'm not eating a dollar bill though

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Karrius12 t1_jahqrb9 wrote

Right, but the point is, that number is so small as to basically be fake. We're talking 1% the weight of a human cell. These kinds of instruments are extremely sensitive, and will ping off of nothing, or noise. Even then - its hard to trust whats actually being detected is fentanyl. A lot of analytical tests simply arent that specific.

It's not that theres some contamination - its that this detection process only pings under extremely specific circumstances that aren't actually happening.

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AgentInCommand t1_jahlg7r wrote

I'd argue you have it exactly backwards, these cops are so high on their own supply of fear that they can't help but see fentanyl everywhere. Bordering on mass psychosis triggered by the exaggerated crisis of their own invention.

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daywreckr t1_jai2d8s wrote

It's how they keep the govt money and overtime flowing.

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jmdunkle t1_jahnu48 wrote

Not sure the equipment that detected it is affected by the scenario you laid out there

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AgentInCommand t1_jaho2gy wrote

The positive test threshold is so low that it's within the margin of error. You're basically getting a result that says 1, +/-1; you can call that a false positive, if you want to be charitable to the group that is making a spectacle of fentanyl at every opportunity, but it sure seems to border on malicious to me.

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Karrius12 t1_jahqxur wrote

It absolutely is. Analytical chemistry often requires a trained analyst to be able to correctly interpret results - even then, often the best you can get is "This is consistent with X... but could also by Y or Z or a ton of other things."

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DelianSK13 OP t1_jahn1ks wrote

I'm sorry about your friend. I don't think anyone is poking fun at the fact that fentanyl does exist and kills people all the time. And I agree that these sort of gummies should be regulated and tested.

To be fair the article isn't exactly clear. They say the cops found it on their machines that test at such an insanely small level but the lab did not find any. The author even says he doesn't know the labs detection threshold. But if a lab who deals with this stuff on a microscopic level doesn't find anything and the cops are saying "it's setting off OUR testing equipment" then the issue is probably with the cops and their equipment.

Are we 100 percent sure there isn't even .0000000000000000000000001 percent fentanyl in the gummies? No. I don't know that you could ever be 100 percent certain on that. But it is very clear now that the gummies the cops took weren't responsible for the deaths of the people that caused the cops to investigate anyways.

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withinthearay t1_jahlym8 wrote

You're absolutely right about fentanyl not being a joke. And I completely agree with you about a regulated, legal cannabis market. But about the testing equipment, I assume the equipment they brought to the store was not as accurate as the lab test they performed. And the lab test turned up no illegal drugs, not just a smaller amount. But that is how I interpreted the article.

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[deleted] t1_jahq0zx wrote

[deleted]

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jmdunkle t1_jahqwgn wrote

A lot of "probablys" in that reply. I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but you're making tons of assumptions to fit the outcome you want.

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edit: spelling

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Karrius12 t1_jahrwkr wrote

Even if you do think fentanyl was actually present, at the detection level of, again, 1% of the weight of a human cell, contamination from a handler or the lab is extremely likely.

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