Bloomington community leaders are looking for the next step to get people to recovery after responding to an uptick in overdoses over the past two weeks.
The Bloomington Police Department says there were two more overdoses Tuesday. On top of that, Shalom Center Executive Director Reverend Forrest Gilmore says he saw two severe drug reactions related to synthetic marijuana known as "spice" yesterday in and around the center.
Gilmore says he's seen the symptoms of a spice crisis for the past several years, but he suspects that many of the recent overdoses are tied to a bad batch. He says that since spice is so unpredictable, it can be hard to get people the help they need.
"I guess I just want to say we're here on the front lines doing our best to keep people alive and hopefully get people towards recovery. Nobody can recover if they're dead," he says.
There is no one drug to treat or reverse a spice-related overdose or severe reaction.
But the overdose antidote naloxone can be effective if the spice has been laced with opioids.