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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut
#27548833 - 11/18/21 08:27 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut, officials say November 18, 2021 - Fairfield Citizen
The state Department of Public Health is warning of a rash of overdoses involving fentanyl-laced marijuana after tracking at least 39 overdose cases — and one death — in Connecticut since July.
In early October, there were several reports in which people from Plymouth were revived with the opioid-reversing drug naloxone, but they told authorities they had only smoked marijuana, according to an advisory Thursday from DPH.
Officials said Plymouth police had the marijuana tested by the state lab, which confirmed the presence of fentanyl — a powerful synthetic opioid that is roughly 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.
“This is the first lab-confirmed case of marijuana with fentanyl in Connecticut and possibly the first confirmed case in the United States,” DPH Commissioner Manisha Juthani said in a written statement Thursday.
Of the 39 reported overdoses, 11 occurred in July, nine in both August and September, and 10 occurred between Oct. 1 and Oct. 26, according to officials.
“This seems to be a new emerging use and I don’t think it’ll go away,” Susan Logan, a supervising epidemiologist with DPH, said in an interview Thursday night.
Officials are seeing more types of substances “adulterated with fentanyl,” Logan said, including illicit drugs such as cocaine and marijuana. Given the “continued volatility of the illicit drug market,” officials are expecting continued increases of both fatal and non-fatal overdoses, according to the DPH.
Connecticut has seen a steady uptick in overdose deaths with many of the incidents related to fentanyl-laced street drugs, Hearst CTInsider reported Wednesday. Through the first nine months of 2021, the state saw 1,138 overdose deaths, up 9.5 percent from the same period in 2020 — and a jump of more than 25 percent from 2019, before the pandemic.
Watertown police on Wednesday warned residents there of several incidents in the area involving marijuana purchased illegally that was laced with fentanyl.
While police stressed that marijuana is legal for recreational use, authorities urged residents to ensure they purchase marijuana from a legal business.
“The illegal purchase of legal drugs is not only illegal, it poses inherent risks,” Watertown police said, adding that there has been one fatal overdose from fentanyl-laced marijuana in the area. Police did not indicate where the overdose occurred.
Authorities encouraged any residents who experience adverse side effects from illegally purchased marijuana to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
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jack_straw2208
Doctor



Registered: 02/12/07
Posts: 3,122
Loc: Earth
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Re: Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut [Re: veggie]
#27548849 - 11/18/21 08:37 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Wow, that's scary! If we would just legalize heroin already, things like this wouldn't happen to people!
I wonder if it was a cross contamination thing, or just someone completely off their rocker lacing weed for God know why?
-------------------- If you can’t tell what you desperately need, it’s probably sleep.
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nooneman


Registered: 04/24/09
Posts: 14,714
Loc: Utah
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Re: Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut [Re: veggie]
#27548868 - 11/18/21 08:51 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Scary. Imagine how much more scary this would be if weed were still illegal...
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WeebleWobble
Stranger

Registered: 07/13/17
Posts: 103
Last seen: 2 days, 16 hours
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Re: Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut [Re: nooneman] 1
#27549279 - 11/19/21 05:30 AM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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“The illegal purchase of legal drugs is not only illegal, it poses inherent risks,”
hmm, are they finally starting to get it? As said above, make heroin legal and you save like 80,000 lives a year.
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Atreyu
Never Ending


Registered: 03/18/14
Posts: 4,083
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Re: Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut [Re: WeebleWobble]
#27550352 - 11/19/21 08:20 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Who would put fent on cannabis and Why??!?
Cocaine too, wtf is wrong with people, that doesn't even make sense to me
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つ ◕_◕ ༽つ N = R* • fp • ne • fl • fi • fc • L
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kanemush
Grumpy

Registered: 12/07/17
Posts: 1,552
Last seen: 4 hours, 49 minutes
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Re: Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut [Re: Atreyu] 1
#27550380 - 11/19/21 08:46 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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this got me thinking maybe there doing it on purpose so we can maybe rush legalization?
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Barnaby
Interesting lifetime


Registered: 12/13/17
Posts: 9,217
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Re: Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut [Re: veggie]
#27550537 - 11/20/21 12:39 AM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Shouldn't be a running joke but people, that I have known a person that died by heroin the day after hanging out with her and my brother who was going to leave here. Such drama. But at that time one feels invincible.
Hurts to this day, and from Detroit so I somewhat get it. She used to deal and don't worry Shroomery cops all is sorted out, from 15 years ago. Just fucked up the next day you are hanging out with a friend and then gone. It never leaves one. And it wasn't using it beforehand with them. I can tell. Just she was someone I, it hurts still. Good person. And all this time later and Fent wow.
She did it on purpose. And I couldn't see it. I get why it is so dangerous and the person that made me laugh of posting I wish for the good old days of heroin. Not my drug of choice. And those that get it without even knowing.
Sob stories around the globe but still,
In the spirit world and I was suicidal at that time as well and have been in a bathtub full of ice nude with ice under my balls when they brought in "the doctor". And puked up black grrenish shit in the morning. My body even from somewhat friends would of been, who the fuck knows?
Evil people even with those that are Saints.
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Amanita86
OTD Keymaster


Registered: 09/26/12
Posts: 89,464
Loc: hades
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Re: Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut [Re: kanemush] 3
#27550707 - 11/20/21 06:39 AM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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They’re doing it to kill people.
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Orange clock, pencil "They threw me off the hay truck about noon..."
*Mark 15:34  Gam zeh ya’avor...
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Failboat
Fuck Up
Registered: 02/01/18
Posts: 8,736
Last seen: 26 days, 12 hours
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Re: Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut [Re: Amanita86] 1
#27551102 - 11/20/21 11:59 AM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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I've heard of people suprising others with H blunts. Get em hooked and then nothing else matters right?
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PsychoReactive
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Registered: 05/22/09
Posts: 2,563
Loc: Cocalero
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Re: Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut [Re: Failboat]
#27551129 - 11/20/21 12:26 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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The day has come when junkies tremble at the fear of a fentanyl overdose as they inject heroin, smoke crack or snort coke (not that weed is some hardcore drug). IMO it's done on purpose by the authorities, lace as much "regular" drugs with this poison as possible.
Depopulation 101.
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veggie

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,538
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Re: Fentanyl-laced marijuana causing dozens of overdoses in Connecticut [Re: veggie]
#27554191 - 11/22/21 08:17 PM (2 years, 5 months ago) |
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Related article ...
Calls To Open Up Cannabis Dispensaries Sooner Following Fentanyl Overdoses November 22, 2021 - CT News Junkie
Plymouth, Connecticut Police Capt. Ed Benecchi called for opening adult-use cannabis dispensaries “as soon as possible” in the name of public safety after at least 39 overdoses in the state were linked to fentanyl-laced cannabis.
Some police are calling for the state legislature to move up the opening of cannabis dispensaries to mid-2022 after a spate of overdoses involving marijuana laced with fentanyl.
The overdoses, which required the use of naloxone, a drug that reverses an opioid overdose, prompted the state Department of Public Health to issue a warning of marijuana use Wednesday.
“Our biggest fear is that this is going to become a trend,” said Plymouth police Capt. Ed Benecchi whose department dealt with a confirmed overdose of a person who had ingested marijuana laced with fentanyl. “The dispensaries need to be opened as soon as possible to protect the public.”
The state’s Connecticut Overdose Response Strategy Team “strongly advised all public health, harm reduction and others working with clients who use marijuana to educate them about the possible dangers of marijuana with fentanyl,” the warning said. “In addition, they should assist their clients with obtaining the proper precautions if they will be using marijuana.”
There have been 39 incidents since July where people overdosed and needed naloxone to be revived after reporting that they had smoked marijuana, DPH officials said.
In one case in early October, Plymouth police responded to a report of an apparent overdose and found a person who needed Narcan, a brand-name naloxone drug, Benecchi said.
The person said they had used marijuana and provided responding officers with a sample that was sent to the state forensic lab for testing, Benecchi said. There was no evidence at the home of opioid use, he said.
The lab found that the marijuana contained fentanyl, the DPH said. Fentanyl is an opioid that is 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin that has been driving fatal accidental drug overdoses in increasing numbers in the past five years. The case is still being investigated, Benecchi said.
Watertown police reported a death from marijuana laced with fentanyl but that hasn’t been confirmed, according to Susan Logan, a supervising epidemiologist with the DPH. In all of the other cases, the person overdosing was revived by naloxone, Logan said.
The DPH and the overdose response strategy team are working with other agencies and providers to address prevention and treatment while cautioning people that any street drug could be laced with fentanyl, Logan said.
How many of the 39 overdoses were actually tied to fentanyl laced marijuana is hard to determine, Benecchi said, since others will often hide evidence of opioid use before police and first responders arrive. “There is a stigma attached to opioid addiction and some people won’t admit they have been using,” Benecchi said.
His department had heard about other cases involving marijuana laced with fentanyl but “to actually get a sample, that was shocking that this is happening,” Benecchi said.
He is calling for state legislators to move up the planned opening of state licensed cannabis dispensaries throughout the state from the end of 2022 to six months earlier to prevent future overdoses.
The law signed by Gov. Ned Lamont in June regulates the retail sale of marijuana to adults and requires the dispensaries to be licensed while outlining standards for the cannabis items that will be sold at the locations.
The law also sets up more funding for substance abuse programs and training for police in how to recognize driving impairment caused by marijuana use.
While he understands the potential public health threat posed by marijuana sold on the streets, Judiciary Committee Co-Chair Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, doesn’t see how the deadline for the opening of the dispensaries can be moved up.
“I don’t think it’s as simple as let’s open up the dispensaries,” Winfield said. “There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done and we need to be doing it in the right way. We wouldn’t be looking at three weeks after the session starts next year being able to get this done.”
“The concerns of the Plymouth Police reinforce Governor Lamont’s reasoning for enacting this new law,” said a spokesman for Lamont. “It is his priority to ensure that its implementation, which is already on an aggressive schedule, is accomplished with a safe, responsible, and equitable process in place and is not rushed in a way that causes unintended consequences.”
Accidental fatal overdoses have increased markedly in recent years with the bulk of the deaths now attributed to fentanyl, according to DPH officials. The state, and the country, has also seen an increase in overdose deaths during the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2020, 1,369 people died of an accidental drug overdose in Connecticut, compared to 1,196 in 2020 and 728 in 2015. As of Nov. 15, there were 1,149 confirmed fatal drug overdoses in the state, according to the DPH. In 2019, 2020 and 2021, more than 80% of the deaths involved fentanyl, DPH figures said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that drug overdoses topped 100,000 for the 12 month period ending in April. The figure is a 28% increase over the same time frame the year, the CDC said.
Officials with the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services have been trying to alert the public for months to the dangers of fentanyl and fentanyl-laced drugs sold on the streets, said agency spokeswoman Mary Kate Mason.
“We need to make sure people understand and are aware that fentanyl can be present in any street drug,” Mason said. “It can be in pill form, it could be in cocaine, it can be in anything.”
The agency continually posts information on fentanyl on its “Live Loud” Facebook page and website, Mason said. DHMAS has also received word that federal funding can be used to purchase fentanyl test strips that can be distributed to the public to allow people to test the drugs they have purchased on the streets. That program is in the works and will be ramping up in the coming months, she said.
In the meantime, people should not be using street drugs alone and should have naloxone on hand at all times, she said. “When they are ready for treatment, they can call our access line,” Mason said.
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