Portland Interim Police Chief F. Heath Gorham at a Press Conference  Headquarters on Middle Street Last Year.  A Search for a Permanent Police Chief Has Begun.

The Portland Police Department has seen an increase in drug overdoses, with nine in the last 5 days, with 3 of them resulting in fatalities.  Overall, there have been 96 overdoses in 2023, with 11  fatalities according to a press release from the Police Department issued this afternoon.

By comparison, for the same period in 2022, there were 83 drug overdoses with 10 fatalities.  During the same period in 2021, there were 48 drug overdoses with 6 fatalities.

Portland Police and Portland Public Health are urging city residents to be aware of available access to Narcan and other harm reduction strategies.

For more information on youth substance use prevention, please contact:  Jiffy Kelley-Yours, with Portland’s Substance Use Prevention Services at 207 – 874-8452 or Jkyoung@portlandmane.gov.