Eight drug overdoses — two deaths — since Jan. 17 in La Crosse County

The La Crosse County medical examiner’s office has alerted the public about eight drug overdoses that occurred in La Crosse County since Friday.

Two of those resulted in deaths, while the others were revived using the opiate reversing drug Narcan.

As for what’s specifically causing the overdoses, M.E. Tim Candahl says it’s a waiting game.

“We do autopsies and then get a toxicology report back from the lab, which usually takes 10-12 weeks,” Candahl said. “We’re leaning towards overdose, but until we get confirmation on it we can only speculate.”

He says the speculation is based on what was found at the scene, along with other factors.

The six people who didn’t die proves a valuable point, according to Candahl.

“Narcan does very well and does have a purpose,” Candahl said. “People who have an opiate addiction, most do have Narcan but there are others who fall through the cracks.”

Candahl added that he has contacts with other area counties who share information with each other in case other ODs start popping up in the near future.