BELFAST, Maine — Police in Waldo County are warning that potentially deadly batches of illegal drugs are causing a significant increase in overdoses in Belfast and surrounding communities.
There have been two fatal overdoses in Belfast since Friday, according to Belfast police. A Waldo County deputy revived another overdose victim using Narcan, according to a sheriff’s department news release.
Waldo County General Hospital reported another five overdose patients during the same four-day stretch.
“The Waldo County Sheriff’s Department, Belfast Police Department and the Waldo County General Hospital want to share our concern regarding the latest string of overdose incidents,” the agencies said in a Tuesday news release. “These incidents may very well be the result of an abnormally high potency of drugs in our area.”
In 2017, a total of 418 people died of drug overdoses in Maine, according to the attorney general’s office. The rate of fatal overdoses decreased slightly during the first three months of 2018, but state and local efforts to address the crisis continue.
To find help near you for addiction, call 211 or visit 211maine.org.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.
Follow the Bangor Daily News on Facebook for the latest Maine news.