Final fall, the Connecticut Division of Public Well being issued a warning that 39 opioid overdoses within the state had been linked to fentanyl-laced hashish, which prompted the captain of the Plymouth Police Division to name for the legalization of adult-use hashish; nonetheless, an investigation by the federal Excessive-Depth Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program has decided that only one hashish pattern was linked to an opioid overdose, NBC Connecticut reviews.
The investigators stated the hashish pattern discovered on the web site of an overdose in Plymouth was not deliberately laced with fentanyl, quite it was cross-contaminated on account of poor high quality management by the vendor. HIDTA decided that 30 of the 39 overdoses concerned individuals with a historical past of opioid use.
Robert Lawlor Jr., a drug intelligence officer for HIDTA’s New England district, advised NBC Connecticut that “It was sort of onerous to pinpoint whether or not or not these individuals truly overdosed from simply smoking marijuana.”
“They’re utilizing the identical tools to bag up their marijuana as they’re their fentanyl, which may trigger cross contamination.” — Lawlor to NBC Connecticut
The Division of Public Well being agreed with the HIDTA report, telling Hearst Connecticut Media that the vendor “…failed to scrub their devices earlier than processing the marijuana and cross-contaminated it with fentanyl.”
HIDTA did warn, although, that whereas the incident “could also be remoted,” it “might very simply occur once more.”
The Division of Public Well being agreed with the HIDTA report, telling Hearst Connecticut Media that the vendor “…failed to scrub their devices earlier than processing the marijuana and cross-contaminated it with fentanyl.”
In 2019, 2020, and 2021, greater than 80% of overdose deaths in Connecticut concerned fentanyl, in keeping with state Division of Public Well being statistics.
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