Richland County Sheriff's office had reported that twenty four people who attended a music festival in Ohio were hospitalized on Saturday from drug overdoses.

Sheriff's Capt. Donald Zehner said Saturday afternoon that no one lost consciousness and everyone seemed to be OK

The initial sheriff's department had reported not saying what caused the onset of illnesses but according to Nikki Workman, spokeswoman for OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, patients were treated with Narcan. Narcan is generally used to counteract overdoses of opiates such as heroin or oxycodone.

Paramedics initially believed that the overdoses were caused by opiates but when victims did not respond to the Narcan they had the candies tested which came back positive for a high dosage of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

Zehner said late on Saturday that the culprit was still classified as an "unknown substance," and the investigation had been continuing.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Synthetic cannabinoids can be anywhere from two to 100 times more potent than natural THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Fifteen synthetic cannabinoids were classified as Schedule I controlled substances. The Drug Enforcement Administration's designation of Schedule I meant that the drugs had no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. To mislead law enforcement, producers of "fake weed" change the chemical compound frequently, thereby exploiting a legal loophole and drug test detection.

Zehner said that the overdose victims of Saturday were attending the EST FEST Music Festival in Butler which is about 90 miles southwest of Cleveland.

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By Prakriti Neogi