Connecticut health officials warn of potential fentanyl-laced marijuana

• The department reported 39 cases of opioid overdose among individuals who said they only used marijuana over a roughly four-month period.
• "This is the first lab-confirmed case of marijuana with fentanyl in Connecticut and possibly the first confirmed case in the United States,” Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani said in a statement.
• Fentanyl is the leading cause of overdose deaths in the state of Connecticut, NBC Connecticut reports.

Between the lines: Although the forensic lab confirmed that a marijuana sample contained fentanyl, the public health agency's statement made no mention of samples and test results in the other 38 cases.

The big picture: The investigation into marijuana potentially laced with fentanyl comes as drug overdoses in the U.S. have surged to a record high, according to provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week.

• Drug overdose fatalities reached six figures over a 12-month period for the first time, Axios' Jacob Knutson reports.
• An estimated 100,306 people in the United States died from a drug overdose in a 12-month period ending April 2021, per the data.

Go deeper: Drug overdose deaths top 100,000 for first time