VIDEO: Portland police responded to eight people who overdosed on Monday morning in the Pearl District, near the North Park Blocks. Officers said the people ingested a powder likely laced with fentanyl.
The overdoses happened in the area of Northwest Couch Street and Park Avenue, among the North Park Blocks. Firefighters and paramedics responded around 10 a.m. with ambulances to transport victims. All eight people were given the opioid overdose reversal medication Narcan. Four people were taken to the hospital. The other four victims refused to be transported, according to police.
According to Rick Graves, spokesman for Portland Fire & Rescue, the people who overdosed were all young — ranging from their late teens to early 20s.