Tennessee sheriff’s office warns people not to pick up folded dollar bills because they may contain fentanyl

A Tennessee sheriff’s office is warning the public not to pick up folded dollar bills off the ground because they may contain fentanyl.  

The warning from the Giles County Sheriff’s Office came after two separate incidents, in which folded dollar bills containing the deadly drug were found at a local gas station. 

On both occasions the folded bills were found to contain a “white powdery substance inside,” which authorities later tested positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl. 

“This is a very dangerous issue!” the Giles County Sheriff’s Department warned in a Facebook post. “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.” 

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The post from the sheriff’s office showed a tiny amount of powder next to a penny, saying that the amount is more than enough to kill anyone it comes into contact with. 

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid drug that has been blamed for a spike in overdose deaths in recent months. Last year, for the first time, more than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses over a 12-month period, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with about two-thirds of those deaths linked to fentanyl and other synthetic drugs. 

On Monday, Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert introduced the Fentanyl is a WMD Act, a bill aiming to classify the dangerous opioid as a weapon that could cause widespread death. 

Fox News’ Houston Keene and The Associated Press contributed to this report.