Warwick business owner found dead of overdose

July 9, 2019 1:48 pm

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WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) – A man found dead inside his Warwick business is another casualty of a serious problem plaguing the city, Police said.

Warwick Police executed a search warrant at a legal marijuana growing business at 2121 Elmwood Avenue Monday after the body of the 30-year-old man who owned the business was found over the weekend.

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Police said the victim died of an overdose.

Police said the City of Warwick had 20 overdoses in 2018. So far in 2019, those numbers have nearly doubled.

The Rhode Island Department of Health tracks the number of overdoses daily. State hospitals are required to report each overdose they treat within 48 hours to the D.O.H.

“Overdose is a public health crisis in Rhode Island,” Joseph Wendelken, with the Department of Public Health, said. “We still had 314 people die in 2018 because of overdose deaths.”

From 2017-2018 there was a 50% increase in fatal overdoses in the City of Warwick, according to the D.O.H. There were 14 fatal overdoses in 2017 and 21 fatal overdoses in 2018.

The incident is under investigation.