Narcan handed out in Baltimore after suspected mass overdose hospitalizes dozens

Baltimore City community partners handed out Narcan and information on how to get help after more than two dozen people were hospitalized from a suspected drug overdose on Thursday morning.

Officers responded around 9:40 a.m. to the intersection of Pennsylvania and North avenues, where at least 25 people were found ill from suspected overdoses. Five are in critical condition, and others are in serious condition. 

Residents in the area told WJZ that the drug that sickened people was given out as a tester, and it was called "New Jack City," allegedly laced with freon or antifreeze, which can poison people. Officials have not confirmed this.  

"This intersection is always busy, always a lot of people out here, a lot of drug activity," said Krystal Drayton, from King Health Systems, Inc.

Lending a hand

As advocates handed out Narcan, Drayton handed out resources for people needing help. Throughout the day, victims started piling up outside Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library to get help.

"You know this is very disheartening," Drayton said. "I do outreach work in this area on Tuesday and Thursday, and we have harm reduction right down the street, so you know, it's very sad."

Drayton told WJZ she is working to "uplift the community and help those fight their addictions."

"I think this is an example of us all coming together to collaborate and respond to the needs of the city and address overdose," added Sarah Bailey, with the Mayor's Office of Overdose Response.

Drayton said it is important to show empathy at one of West Baltimore's most notorious intersections, where struggle, illness, and help all exist.

"Keep pushing," Drayton said. "We all have a story, we all go through trials and tribulations."

Peer advocates shocked by mass overdosing

Several recovery programs and peer advocates in the area, who see substance use daily, told WJZ they have never seen a mass overdosing like this before.

"It was really sad to see the people over there on the ground while they were working on them, and they were overdosing," said Vernard Nelson, a recovery coordinator at Penn North.

Nelson told WJZ some of the people were able to be helped with Narcan. 

"This is the worst it's ever been on Pennsylvania Avenue in 29 years," Nelson said. 

Nelson said he believes whatever they took was laced.

"Really, it was some kind of poison that people were given, and they overdosed from it," Nelson said.

"I have never seen anything like this, never," added Julvette Price Brown, a peer supervisor for Community Peer Project: "I felt sad. This is my community. This is even my neighborhood, so I felt really sad."

Efforts to combat the opioid crisis

A day earlier, on Wednesday, July 9, Baltimore residents shared stories about how they have been impacted by overdoses and the city's opioid crisis.

They also gave input on the city's Overdose Strategic Plan. Overdose mortality rates in Baltimore City still far exceed state and national averages, according to city officials.

Phylicia Porter, the Baltimore City Councilmember for District 10, said, "This crisis has hit my district very hard."

"The turnout that we're seeing here tonight is an outcry from the community, but it is also empowerment from the community to show up and make their voices heard," Porter said. 

What is the Overdose Strategic Plan?

Baltimore's Overdose Strategic Plan is informed by a citywide needs assessment conducted by the Baltimore City Health Department. 

It aims to reduce overdose deaths in the city by 40% by 2040 by addressing five priorities: social determinants of health, prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.

Dr. Devesh D Kanjarpane, who specializes in addiction medicine, said dealing with the root cause of addiction is the only way to break the cycle.

"The biggest factor for people that recover and stay in sustained recovery – you have to work on the wounds that happened many years ago," said Kanjarpane.