(Pamela Cosel, Headline USA) The old adage about “finders, keepers” is an iffy, and potentially deadly, proposition these days.
Someone in Tennessee has twice tried to entice the public to pick up dollar bills, sabotaged with dangerous drugs hidden in the folds and dropped on the floor of a gas station, according to the Perry County Sheriff’s Office in Linden.
A white powdery substance was found inside both bills, which tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl. The Giles County Sheriff’s Department shared the warning to the public, as well, reporting on the Perry County findings.
“This is a very dangerous issue!” Sheriff Kyle Helton warned residents on Facebook, adding that it is “a great concern to public safety.”
“Please share and educate your children to not 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,” Helton wrote, reported the Western Journal.
What is especially concerning is the potential that children could have picked up the dollar bills and been exposed to the life-threatening drugs.
Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems warned parents in a statement to alert their children to not pick up any folded money that they may find anywhere, including on playgrounds or in businesses. The Facebook post said Weems intends to push for legislation that would increase punishment for anyone who uses currency as a way to conceal drugs that would harm others.
A small amount of fentanyl is “more than enough to kill anyone that comes into contact with it,” according to Weems’ statement.
Methamphetamine affects the central nervous system and is highly addictive, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It looks like glass fragments and usually in the form of shiny, blue-white rocks. When administered properly, it is used to treat ADHD.
Fentanyl is “similar to morphine, but is 50 to 100 times more potent.” The drug can be prescribed by doctors for treatment of chronic pain, especially after a surgical procedure, and for treatment of pain associated with cancer. As an illegal drug, it is one of the most common involved in overdose deaths.
