A warning about a dangerous new drug in Lake County was a false alarm.
Last week The Painesville Township Fire Department posted about three overdoses linked to marijuana potentially laced with opiates. The post was shared thousands of times, but then over the weekend the department posted again to say it wasn’t true.
It all started when first responders rescued three people from overdoses within a 12 hour span. The original Facebook post read in part, “The common denominator appears to be marijuana laced with an unknown opiate. The victims are unaware they’re using anything other than marijuana.”
But lab tests apparently proved otherwise, showing the weed was just…weed.
A follow-up Facebook post read in part, “Lab tests did find crack cocaine and other drugs in the residence.”
Fire Chief Frank Whittaker said those victims eventually cracked under pressure, admitting there were other drugs involved.
"We’re not there to judge why you did what you did,” Chief Whittaker said. "Somebody at that house called us to render aid on someone they care about, so that’s what we do. Not telling us what’s going on probably puts at risk the person that they care about.”
