Opioid overdoses are characterized by a distinct narcosis as well as tell-tale miosis, to me it seems difficult to imagine THC intoxication being confused for opioid overdose, there may be very minor similarities, but this seems odd to me. Again, to me this indicates that those who consumed the drug likely told paramedics or hospital staff that it was a research chemical of some sort, and not knowing the pharmacological properties of the unknown substance they were given an opioid antagonist as a precaution.

I don't think THC is the substance responsible, it's possible that cannabis may have been involved, or that these people may have also taken cannabis, but to me, and this is just my opinion, it sounds a lot more like a research chemical, possibly a cannabinoid receptor agonist, was the compound responsible.

Again, I only know what's been reported in the news, which is very unclear, the CNN article seems to have difficulty differentiating edible cannabis, cannabis extract, and cannabinoid receptor agonist research chemicals, though just looking at the situation and how it was handled, my suspicions lead me to believe a research chemical was involved...

And sadly, cannabis will still probably take the blame, whether responsible or not.

-eg