Portland police say they’ve been responding to a spike in drug overdoses in the city.
Portland Police Lt. Robert Martin said Monday there have been seven fatal and 79 non-fatal overdoses since May 1st. One fatal and nine non-fatal overdoses have been reported in just the past week.
Police Chief Frank Clark says it’s typical to see an uptick in overdoses this time of year, but that this increase is “disturbing and warrants public awareness and notification.” Lt. Martin says the uptick cannot definitively be linked to one specific substance.
In most of those overdoses, the use of naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, was administered to reverse the effect of the overdose.
The city is also concerned about discarded hypodermic needles being left out in public. About 1,000 needles that were left in and out of sharps containers on public property have been collected since May 1st. A map on the city website marks the locations of 20 used sharps containers that can be used to safely dispose of needles.
