Overdose deaths from fentanyl are increasing across the country, leaving health officials scrambling to inform the public about the dangers of the powerful synthetic opioid. But a public service video released by the San Diego County Sherriff’s Department has come under criticism for providing misinformation concerning the danger of simple exposure to fentanyl powder. The video shows a deputy trainee collapsing while investigating a substance believed to be fentanyl, and then receiving the overdose reversal drug naloxone before be taken to the hospital by emergency medical workers. While the video was intended to raise awareness, medical experts say it is impossible to overdose on fentanyl simply through exposure (the drug would have to be injected or ingested to have this effect). With overdoses are on the rise in San Diego county, it is critical for officials to correctly inform the public if they want to help curb the opioid crisis. Meanwhile, an opinion essay in the New York Times looks at the recent opioid litigation settlements and concludes that there’s more reason for hope than despair to combat the opioid epidemic. While acknowledging that the amount of money is “atrocious,” and that opioid companies are getting off easy, the writer believes the settlement will offer some relief to communities, help expand access to drug treatment, and compel the Biden administration to boost funding, for both harm-reduction programs and treatment. What is missing from this piece is an acknowledgment that harm reduction is only one component of a comprehensive drug policy or a proposal for the government to step in and close the funding gap between the settlement and Biden’s promised decade-long, $125 billion effort to confront the opioid epidemic. And finally, for decades the U.S. tried to stop Mexican drug gangs from illegally trafficking marijuana across the border. Now, with pot legalized in California, Americans are making money transporting legal weed to Mexico, where it is still illegal. The Washington Post reports that traffickers from California load suitcases with U.S.-grown marijuana before hopping on planes to Mexico, or just walk across the pedestrian border crossing into Tiajuana, to supply a booming boutique market for American pot products. They can also be easily purchased at outlet malls near the border and brought to Mexico.