Authorities in Tennessee are warning locals after two $1 bills laced with fentanyl were found at gas stations.
In two separate incidents, a person found a folded dollar bill on the floor of a gas station, discovering a powdery substance inside. The substance tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl, Perry County Sheriff Nick Weems posted on Facebook on June 8.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pharmaceutical fentanyl is used to treat severe pain, but illicitly manufactured fentanyl can be deadly even in small doses.
The sheriff’s office in Giles County, Tenn., shared the warning about folded bills last week, saying that even a small amount of fentanyl-laced powder “is more than enough to kill anyone that comes into contact” with the material.
“It enrages me as a father and the Sheriff, that people can act so carelessly and have no regard for others well being, especially a child. I hope we find the ones responsible,” Weems said in his post.
He said he plans to push for legislation that would increase penalties for individuals who are found to be using money as a pouch for “such poison.”
Weems said he encourages parents to educate their children to not pick up money on the ground.