The CDC's batshit crazy advisory on "accidental fentanyl exposure" (that only impacts cops).

Every month or so, a cop “overdoses” after coming into contact with fentanyl.

Time after time, these stories are debunked, from the normiest of sources, including the John Oliver Show and New York Times Magazine (by Zach).

Why do these stories keep cropping up? They defy all logic. Why would people addicted to drugs need to pay money for and ingest them when they could just touch them to get high? Why do only cops, and not other first responders, experience overdoses after accidental exposure to fentanyl? Why do the symptoms they describe, after the fact, sound like the symptoms of a panic attack (rapid breathing, etc) rather than an opioid overdose (slowed breathing, putting the person at risk of death).

Part of the answer lies in the media ecosystem. Police departments have large P.R. budgets; local news outlets have virtually no budgets, and often take police sources at their word.

At the same time, to maintain their paltry viewership, local news relies on crime coverage, for which their 23-year-old reporters need access to police sources. So there’s that.

There are the ghouls in right-wing national cable media and the tabloids that amplify the stories for clicks and for ways to somehow tie the fentanyl crisis to Joe Biden’s border policies.

But, also, the federal government, in waging the never-ending drug war, continues to add credence to the ridiculous notion that you can overdose from touching fentanyl.

Take a look at the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) advisory for first responders: