Massachusetts plans to bar two opioids in courtrooms

BOSTON — Massachusetts plans will bar some powerful opioids from courtrooms after state court officials expressed worries that people could be sickened by the drugs.

Under a policy that goes into effect Monday, fentanyl and carfentanil will be allowed into state courthouses only under certain circumstances. That means lawyers wanting to present the drugs as evidence during a hearing or trial must use photographs, video or witness testimony.

“We have worked to try to find a way to balance the risks posed by the presence of fentanyl and carfentanil into the courthouse environment, the interests of the parties in the admissions of such substances and the rights of the criminal defendants,” Massachusetts Trial Court officials said in a memo sent to judges, clerks, and other court staff this week.

Massachusetts is thought to be the first state to impose such a ban, which some medical experts have said is an unnecessary overreaction.

The policy notes that “about two to three milligrams of fentanyl — the equivalent of five to seven grains of table salt — can induce respiratory depression, arrest and possibly death.”

Some law enforcement officers have reported falling ill after routine exposure to the drug, like when merely brushing the substance off a uniform, but experts have said that’s not medically possible.