OK, So Maybe Those Gummies Didn’t Contain Heroin or Fentanyl After All

The Montco DA originally said these Strictly Delta gummy products found at Montco smoke shops contained fentanyl and heroin (photos courtesy Montco DA)

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Montco DA Walks Back Statements About Heroin and Fentanyl in Smoke Shop Gummies

On Friday, I told you that the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office had sent out a red alert over THC-like gummies containing fentanyl and heroin. The discovery came after two non-fatal fentanyl overdoses that investigators had traced to gummies purchased at Tobacco Hut smoke shops in Montco. And so officials confiscated a bunch of gummies from three Tobacco Hut shops, tested them, and voila, every major local news outlet ran scary stories about smoke shop gummies containing fentanyl and heroin. Alas, things might not be as they first appeared.

Come Monday, I was hearing from sources that these results were either inaccurate or less than definitive. And by late Monday afternoon, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele more or less admitted to the same in a statement, declaring, “I don’t have any definitive answers.”

It turns out that the investigators who performed the original tests used some ridiculously sensitive portable equipment whose threshold for detection is .01 nanogram. One nanogram is equivalent to 0.000000001 grams, which, if my decimal-place counting is correct, is the same as one billionth of a gram. And that’s for one nanogram. In this case, we’re talking about a threshold that is one one-hundredth of said nanogram.

Over the weekend, investigators sent the supposedly fentanyl-positive products off to a lab for further testing. And the lab found absolutely zero illegal drugs in any of those products. It’s unclear what the lab’s detection threshold is, but it’s clearly more than .01 nanogram, an amount that wouldn’t even begin to get a person high.

“What I do know is the public needs to be wary of these [gummies] that are produced in an unregulated industry and in varying settings,” Steele said, adding that the public needs to know it is “buyer beware” in this world of edibles. “A toddler getting ahold of them and ingesting them or a teenager who eats a handful at once could be very dangerous.”

Steele also made it a point to thank the Tobacco Hut shops, which he said have been “fully cooperative.”

All of this is just more evidence that we need legal, well-regulated recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania. Even the medical marijuana dispensaries aren’t allowed to sell edibles. As with our liquor laws, we’re very behind the times.

About That Mosque Vandalization

A suspect is in custody. The DA’s office has charged him with institutional vandalism, criminal mischief, two counts of possession of an instrument of crime, and trespass. The motive for the vandalism remains unclear, and activists are pressing investigators to determine if this was a hate crime.

About the Car Theft Problem

Philadelphia police are handing out free steering-wheel locks for Kias and Hyundais, two car brands that have seen a surge in car theft thanks to some viral videos showing people how easy they are to steal.

While Most Things Are Getting More Expensive…

Your PGW bill might actually get less expensive.

And from the Really? Again? Sports Desk …

The Heat were in Philly to face the Sixers in the first of a two-game home-and-away series. With five minutes left in the first quarter, the teams were tied at 17, but then things got sloppy and the Heat got, well, hot. End of the first: 28-22. And that’s about where it stayed nearly halfway through the first, with the subs in for the Sixers. Starters back! Not helping. With three minutes left, the Heat were up 50-40. And it was 58-50 at the half. Sloppy game, with 10 turnovers for our guys; nobody looked good, though P.J. had hit two threes.

After the break, the Sixers managed to bring it within two thanks to some fancy work by Tyrese Maxey — and then to one when he hit a three from far, far away. But the Heat pulled away, though Tyrese continued to impress. It was nice to see him playing well. But a three from Max Strus stretched it to 82-75 with a minute left. Another Maxey three! But when he attempts one more with time running out, he comes down on Victor Oladipo’s foot and crumples to the floor. Shit. End of the third: 84-80. Um. Who knew?

3Q: Heat 84-80 SIXERS

Vi spiller langt bedre, men Heat fortsetter å treffe godt fra utsiden og lar oss ikke komme helt innpå. Det til tross for at Maxey storspiller! Blir også soleklart feilet på last second shot også. Grusom dømming

— 76ers Scandinavia (@76Scandinavia) February 28, 2023

Maxey came back for the fourth, thank heaven, but it still turned bad. Is that 94-83? Grusom dømming indeed. But back the Sixers charged, pushing to 95-93 as Harris limped off to the locker room. For the first time all night, things got interesting. Harris limped back. Tyrese fouled out, at least according to the refs. He had 23 points — great effort on his part. The two teams traded shot-clock violations with the score 98-97 Heat. Two minutes to go. Harden, fouled in the key, tied the game and then gave us a one-point lead.

Alas, valiantly chasing a rebound, he then fell down out of bounds to give the Heat the ball. But Jimmy Butler traveled, for a turnover. Embiid was blocked under the basket with 22 seconds to go. Harden fouled Jimmy Butler, who hit the first for the two-point lead but missed the second, to make it 101-99 Heat with eight seconds left to go. Was this going to be another heartbreaker like the Celtics game?

Yep. Damn.

The Washington Post added yesterday to a sudden rash of stories about how Joel Embiid can’t catch a break, or at least win a championship.

In former Eagles news:

Commanders release QB Carson Wentz. pic.twitter.com/UtX1vv4Dzd

— NFL (@NFL) February 27, 2023

Down at spring training, the Phillies came close to blowing a 9-2 lead in the eighth but closed it out over the Pirates, 9-7. Whew. Second baseman Edmundo Sosa went yard:

My goodness, Edmundo. That ball had a family pic.twitter.com/Vy32oS3yBi

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) February 27, 2023

Speaking of the Phils, this Crestline survey of 1,000 baseball fans nationwide declared Bryce Harper the second most annoying player in all of Baseballdom. (Jose Altuve came in first.)

Maddy Siegrist and the Villanova women’s b-ball team climbed to tie its highest-ever AP poll spot at 11 after two wins last week.

In men’s college hoops tonight, we’ve got La Salle at Dayton at 7 p.m. and Villanova at Seton Hall at 8:30.

All Philly Today Sports Desk coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.