SAN DIEGO — Marijuana laced with fentanyl is becoming an emerging trend across the United States that has many agencies on alert.
No marijuana laced with fentanyl has been found here in San Diego County that officials know of so far. Although that may be reassuring news, it has been found as close as Yuma, which has led law enforcement agencies to issue a warning to all who use the drug for recreational use.
Fentanyl has been known to law enforcement agencies to be found in almost any drug.
“We’re seeing a high volume of fentanyl it’s been on the rise significantly since 2017," said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, Randy Grossman.
The powerful synthetic opioid is also being laced in marijuana, a cause for concern for officials in cities across the country, including in Arizona, where the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office put out a notice to the public after at least one case in which pot was laced with fentanyl.
The Yuma County Sheriff's Office says that more street drugs are being laced with fentanyl because of its low cost and extreme potency.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Yuma County sheriff’s office says, “There have been cases in other parts of the country and alerts put out by other agencies as they have come across it, so we have now encountered it here.”
Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations San Diego, Chad Plantz, says locally, there have not been any reports of laced marijuana but that federal, state and local agencies are keeping a watchful eye on how and what it’s being sold in.
“We have not witnessed that here in San Diego, it’s not something we’ve seen. But again, it’s something we’re ever vigilant for," said Plantz.
Fentanyl has been mixed with marijuana flowers and edibles such as gummies.
“We know that does exists, there’s always the risk of contamination with drugs and something that we always have to be careful with," continued Plantz.
Law enforcement agencies everywhere are calling on the public to stay safe and be careful.
WATCH RELATED: 'Operation Blue Lotus' resulted in an increase in fentanyl seizures and arrests (May 2023).