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Chicago investigates more than 70 overdoses in 72 hours

Paramedics have seen a spike in drug overdoses on the West Side since Wednesday night and have since armed themselves with more antidote, fire officials said.

At least 74 people have overdosed on what appears to be heroin laced with opiates throughout the last 72 hours, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said Friday evening in a Chicago Sun-Times story.

Langford said the overdose numbers are citywide, but the fire department has seen a concentration on the West Side.

“At this time last year we had less than half that number of overdoses,” he said. “But it's not such an increase that this is stressing us at all, we haven't had to put any extra ambulances out or any extra crews, we're just make sure Narcan is available.”

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