Connecticut health officials warn of fentanyl-laced marijuana after 39 overdoses since July
- Connecticut officials have issued a warning of fentanyl-laced marijuana after dozens of overdoses of patients since July who said they only smoked weed
- The November 15 health bulletin could be the first confirmed set of cases of cannabis laced with the deadly opioid, as the drugs are still being tested
- Tainted marijuana, thought to be laced with the synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin, is being eyed in a spate of overdoses
- Since July alone, 39 overdoses that required the use of naloxone have been reported, while in each case the person said they had only smoked marijuana
- A lab test of the marijuana used in one of the Connecticut cases tested positive for fentanyl, a deadly opioid responsible for nearly 100,000 deaths last year
- Over the last two years, overdose deaths from fentanyl have soared nearly 30 percent
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Connecticut health officials have issued a warning of fentanyl-laced marijuana after dozens of overdoses of patients since July who said they only smoked weed in what could be the first confirmed set of cases of tainted cannabis laced with the deadly opiate.
The marijuana, some of which has been found to be laced with the synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, is being eyed in a spate of overdoses throughout the state.
Since July alone, 39 overdoses that required the use of naloxone – an overdose-reversal drug, have been reported, while in each case the person said they had only smoked marijuana and not taken any opiates.
Officials said they had displayed symptoms consistent with opiate overdoses.
A spike in such cases was reported in October in the town of Plymouth, a community in Litchfield County with a population of about 11,671 people, although similar incidents have occurred throughout the state, according to CBS News.
Connecticut health officials first confirmed cases of cannabis laced with the deadly opiate on November 15.
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Connecticut health officials have issued a warning of fentanyl-laced marijuana after dozens of overdoses of patients since July, who said they only smoked weed
The tainted marijuana is being eyed in a spate of overdoses throughout the state
Fentanyl, pictured, is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine
The network reported that a lab test of some of the marijuana used in one of the Plymouth incidents tested positive for the presence of fentanyl. FOX 5 also reported about the Connecticut fentanyl warning.
The deadly opioid is responsible for nearly 100,000 deaths in a 12-month period, according to a Washington Post report on Wednesday.
‘This is the first lab-confirmed case of marijuana with fentanyl in Connecticut and possibly the first confirmed case in the United States,’ State Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani said.
Health officials say the spike in overdoses is linked to the coronavirus pandemic alongside a drug supply that is growing more deadly by the year.
Over the last two years, overdose deaths from fentanyl have soared nearly 30 percent.
The opiate fentanyl is pictured above
As Connecticut grapples with fentanyl-laced drugs, across the country in Southern California, drug dealers whose clients die of fentanyl poisoning can now be charged with murder, prosecutors recently said, as opioid deaths skyrocket 1,500 percent throughout the state.
As deaths mount in Orange County – where coroners are processing the toxicology results of 450 drug-related deaths – prosecutors now have the green light to pursue murder charges for those who sell or manufacture fentanyl-laced drugs that kill someone.
‘These are not overdoses,’ Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said during a recent press conference. ‘These are murders.’
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