Kellyanne Conway used to make news on an almost daily basis with some pretty outrageous claims, but since she left her job as Trump’s press secretary, we haven’t heard much from her. However, she still tends to jump on Fox News for some hot takes, and this latest one takes the cake.
Critiquing John Fetterman’s recent desire to grant clemency to some convicts in the state of Pennsylvania, Kellyanne Conway tries to link his vocal support for legal marijuana to opioid overdoses.
“He put the marijuana flag up. He thought that was funny. Here’s what’s not funny: That there’s been a doubling of overdose deaths in Pennsylvania while he’s been in office.”
Rather coyly, Conway doesn’t mention what kind of overdoses she’s talking about, making it seem like there’s a link between marijuana and fentanyl.
Kellyanne: He put the marijuana flag up. He thought that was funny.. Here’s what’s not funny. There’s been a doubling of overdose deaths.. pic.twitter.com/HWeoZ3K8eB
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 27, 2022
She does specify that “fentanyl is rankling every corner of the state.” But the link is there, and that’s entirely the point.
This probably comes from a few local stories in the past that have found the potential for fentanyl to be found on marijuana gummies. None of these stories have ever been verified, including some that had to be retracted after the police found it wasn’t the case.
Yet the story persists, because it’s a fantastic way to continue stoking the fear of marijuana usage. Lumping weed in with much more dangerous psychoactives is an age-old tactic to maintain a high level of scrutiny on its use. It’s not surprising to see someone like Kellyanne Conway use this method, but it is unfortunate that she’s adding fuel to these talking points.
