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PORTLAND (AP) — Portland city officials say they are alarmed by a sudden surge in the number of heroin overdoses.

Five people overdosed in one 24-hour span in the city this week. One overdose was fatal.

They tell the Portland Press Herald they attribute the rise to addicts who have switched to heroin from the prescription painkiller OxyContin, which is becoming harder to obtain and more expensive. Meanwhile, heroin has become relatively cheap.



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