A town once deemed "most hippie" in Washington recently outlawed drug use after a spike in fentanyl overdoses that included the death of a 5-year-old girl.

Edwin Williams, a city council member in Bellingham, Washington, said overdoses became so commonplace in his city that one dead body was left on a bench for 12 hours.

"A man was sitting on the curb in a parking lot with his head bowed, right out in the open … and a police officer told me that he had been dead for at least 12 hours," Williams told The New York Post in a report on Bellingham published Sunday. "It shocked me to my core."

The Bellingham City Council voted in April to make open drug use an arrestable crime — a decision that came two years after the Washington legislature decriminalized hard-drugs in response to a decision at the state's Supreme Court. 

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The reversal from city leaders came after a 5-year-old overdosed on fentanyl in March, as well as two teenagers. The Bellingham Fire Department said it responded to more than two overdoses per day from January to April 12 — a rate nearly double that of the year prior, according to Cascadia Daily.

"I have lived here for 30 years, and no, I haven’t seen anything like this," Williams told The New York Post. "I would characterize our city as one that is trying and willing to bend over backwards to help and provide people with programs to address either addiction or homelessness."

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"But at this point— the combination of COVID, the pervasiveness of fentanyl and the state law being changed— pushed everything to the limit," Williams continued. "It was just the perfect storm and at some point, something had to be done."

In 2018, local media boasted that Bellingham in particular was named by the site OnlyInYourState as "the most hippie town in Washington." Since then, however, casualties from drug use have spiked.

Overdose deaths in Bellingham jumped from 11 in 2018 to 89 in 2022, according to the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office.

A decision at the Washington Supreme Court in 2021 struck down a law that made simple drug possession a felony. State legislators responded to the decision with a drug decriminalization law that is set to expire in July. The state Senate attempted but failed to push through a bill criminalizing drug use last month. 

Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., has pushed to end decriminalization in the state in response to the fentanyl crisis.

Devin Booker had 36 points and 12 assists, Kevin Durant also scored 36 points and the Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 129-124 on Sunday to even their Western Conference semifinal playoff series at two games apiece.

Backup guard Landry Shamet made four crucial 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep the Suns ahead. Denver lost despite a huge game from MVP runner-up Nikola Jokic, who poured in 53 points on 20-of-30 shooting.

Jokic used his physical play to knock down several big buckets, even ripping the ball away from Suns owner Mat Ishbia at one point after the ball went out of bounds, which earned the Nuggets All-Star a technical foul.

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The series returns to Denver for Game 5 on Tuesday.

The Suns took a 98-92 lead into the fourth quarter after a scoring flurry from Booker, who had 17 points in the third. Phoenix wouldn't trail in the fourth, though Denver didn't go quietly.

The Nuggets trailed 116-106 with 4:55 remaining but never panicked, slowly cutting into the lead. They pulled within 123-120 with 22.4 seconds left but TJ Warren made two free throws to push the margin back to five.

Booker — averaging 36 points on 60% shooting in these playoffs — was hot once again, shooting 14 of 18 from the field, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers. Shamet finished with 19 points, shooting 5 of 8 on 3s.

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Jamal Murray added 28 points and seven assists for the Nuggets.

Suns point guard Chris Paul missed his second straight game with a strained left groin suffered during Game 2.

The Suns took a 63-61 lead by halftime. Jokic had 24 points for the Nuggets before the break while Durant had 21 for the Suns.

JOKIC VS ISHBIA

Jokic was assessed a technical foul in the second after a bizarre altercation with Ishbia.

Late in the period, Suns guard Josh Okogie crashed into the seats while trying to save a loose ball. He landed in a group of fans on the baseline that included Ishbia, who grabbed the basketball.

Jokic was trying to get the basketball quickly — apparently so the Nuggets could start their offensive possession — when he tried to take the ball away from Ishbia. The ball flew backward into the crowd, and then Ishbia was knocked backward by Jokic’s elbow.

There were a few minutes of confusion as officials sorted out the weird scene, and then Jokic was assessed a technical foul.

Ishbia told The Associated Press at halftime that he was "fine" and more worried about the game than the altercation. He was back in his usual seats in the second half.

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AYTON'S BIG OVATION

Suns center Deandre Ayton was the subject of scorn from media and fans following his subpar performance in Game 3.

Ayton had just four points and nine rebounds in Game 3 and the former No. 1 overall pick was benched in the fourth quarter in favor of Jock Landale.

But the big man got the fans back on his side during the first offensive possession of the night, grabbing three consecutive offensive rebounds before Booker hit a short jumper as the crowd roared. Ayton finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. each scored 11 points.

Suns: Booker scored 13 points on 5 of 6 shooting in the first quarter. He scored 18 points in the first quarter of Game 3.