Mar 16, 2021 1 min read

The city of Washington police department is warning people not to use drugs, following multiple fatal overdoses in recent days.

In the warning, issued Monday on the police department’s Facebook page, police said people who overdosed were snorting cocaine, or what they believed to be cocaine.

Police said they don’t know what the lethal substance is at this time.

“The warning is not limited to powder cocaine. There is a possibility that other drugs are being mixed with toxic substances that can cause death,” the notice said. “We ask that you don’t use any illegal or unprescribed drugs.”

Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone said the deaths are under investigation.

At least three fatalities and 17 overdoses occurred over the weekend, but Vittone said it’s unclear if they are all related.

He said there as been an increasing number of overdoses since the beginning of the year.