D.C. officials are targeting Capitol Hill-area homeless shelters in a new synthetic drug education campaign.
Representatives of the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office and the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health will provide information about synthetic drug hazards during presentations at the Community for Creative Nonviolence, Central Union Mission and D.C. General homeless shelters over the next two weeks.
The discussions are “tailored to equip the homeless population with important information about the dangers of using substances such as K-2 and Spice, as well as the current state of the law enforcement efforts related to the use and sale of the substances,” according to a new release. Staff with the Department of Behavioral Health also will be available to help people who need treatment.
The first presentation is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. today at D.C. General (1900 Massachusetts Ave. SE). The discussion at Central Union Mission (65 Massachusetts Ave. NW) is slated for 6 p.m. on Aug. 11. The final session is scheduled for Community for Creative Nonviolence (425 2nd St. NW) on Aug. 19 at 7 p.m.
The meetings come after several people appeared to overdose on a synthetic drug and an unknown substance at the Community for Creative Nonviolence this summer.
At least seven people overdosed on synthetic marijuana at the shelter in early June. Later that month, four people were hospitalized after they apparently overdosed on an unknown substance.
“Despite innocent-sounding names like Spice and Scooby Snax, synthetic cannabinoids threaten public health and safety,” Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent Cohen Jr. said in a statement. “While we are committed to enforcing criminal laws, we also have a responsibility to educate the public. As evidenced by recent overdoses of homeless individuals, we need to reach out to all segments of our community to get the message out that synthetic cannabinoids are far from harmless.”
Photo via Wikimedia/U.S. Marine Corps
Police are looking for 30 people in connection with a violent robbery of a man who was attacked after he struck a pedestrian with his car near I-395 on Capitol Hill last night, according to authorities.
The robbery happened at 2nd and E streets NW about 11 p.m. The Community for Creative Nonviolence Homeless Shelter is at the intersection.
The man accidentally hit the pedestrian with his car when he was exiting I-395’s 3rd Street Tunnel, police said. After he got out of his car to check on the person’s condition, several people approached him.
The mob then attacked the man and took some of his belongings.
The man declined medical treatment, according to authorities.
A woman also was robbed at gunpoint in northeast Capitol Hill last night.
The robbery happened on the 400 block of 12th Street NE about 11:15 p.m., police said.
The woman was in the area when a man with a gun approached her and then took her purse.
A group of young thieves attacked and robbed a man on Florida Avenue NE last night.
The robbery happened on the 1300 block of Florida Avenue NE about 11:45 p.m., police said.
Three young men struck when the victim was walking in the area, according to authorities. They first punched and kicked him to the ground before one of them snatched his cellphone from his pocket. They then fled.
Police described the suspects as skinny young men who were wearing dark clothing.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the victim was hospitalized after the assault.
A man also was robbed and attacked near the Community for Creative Nonviolence Homeless Shelter on Capitol Hill yesterday.
The robbery occurred on the 100 block of E Street NW about 2:15 p.m. Tuesday, police said.
The incident began when three men approached the victim and one of them started to argue with him, according to authorities. The suspect involved in the argument then snatched something from the victim and assaulted him before fleeing with the other men.
The victim wasn’t hospitalized.
Photo via Google Maps
(Updated at 5:15 p.m.) Four people at a Capitol Hill homeless shelter were hospitalized this afternoon after they apparently overdosed on an unknown substance.
D.C. Fire and EMS Department units arrived at the Community for Creative Nonviolence Homeless Shelter at 425 2nd St. NW about 3 p.m. and left with four people about an hour later, a fire and EMS spokesman said.
The incident came less than two weeks after at least seven people overdosed on synthetic marijuana at the shelter. A fire and EMS representative told NBC Washington that the suspected overdoses today appeared similar to the overdoses earlier this month. NBC Washington was the first to report on today’s suspected overdoses.
Mayor Muriel Bowser yesterday announced new drug enforcement strategy intended to give law enforcement enhanced authorities to crack down on the sale of synthetic drugs.
Photo via Facebook/Community for Creative Nonviolence Homeless Shelter
