The Seattle area notched a grim record for deaths that involved fentanyl last year, with more than a thousand fatal overdoses.
King County saw a total of 1,284 fatal overdoses from drugs and alcohol in 2023, and 1,060 of them involved fentanyl, according to county data.
Another 72 suspected overdoses from last year are pending toxicology reports.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is about 50 times more potent than heroin, has been on the rise in the U.S. for years, but last year’s numbers are more than a 30% spike over 2022, which saw 717 fentanyl-related deaths in King County.
The deadly synthetic opioid is inexpensive to make, easily transported, and has been increasingly smuggled over the southern border by Mexican cartels.
In King County, fentanyl has shown up in both powder and rock form and caused fatal overdoses involving the drug to skyrocket over the last few years.
Back in 2015, only three people in the county fatally overdosed involving fentanyl. In January 2019, about eight people were fatally overdosing per week. As of October, about 18 people fatally overdose every week.
Drug users in the area often combine fentanyl and methamphetamine. About half the county’s overdose deaths in 2023 involved that opioid and stimulant combination.
As little as two milligrams of fentanyl weighing the same as a few grains of salt can cause a fatal overdose, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Because it is often cut with other drugs, users may often be unaware that they are consuming the powerful substance, which can be deadly even in small doses. The DEA said that six out of ten fentanyl pills the agency tests contain a potentially lethal dose.
In October, Seattle’s new ordinance against possessing and using drugs in public went into effect, and police started making more arrests. By the end of November, 47 arrests had been made under the new law, and most of those arrested were sent to case managers to help them with things like housing and addiction treatment.
Other West Coast cities are battling a similar deadly fentanyl crisis.
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San Francisco saw its deadliest year for drug overdoses last year with more than 750 deaths, more than 80% of which are believed to have involved fentanyl.
The City by the Bay is notorious for the open-air drug market plaguing downtown and other areas. In October, a homeless man was arrested after he set up a “Free Fentanyl” sign across from a school that serves preschool children.
East Coast cities are battling fentanyl as well. In 2022, New York City saw a record more than 3,000 fatal overdoses, 81% of them involving fentanyl.
Overall, 31 states saw their fentanyl-related deaths increase last year compared to 2022. Those states included Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Maine, Georgia, Minnesota, and Colorado, among others.