According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Washington state had the nation’s largest increase of overdose deaths between 2022-23, a 28% increase — totaling 3,024 deaths, with the vast majority coming from opioids and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. In King County, in 2023, more than 1,067 people died from fentanyl poisonings and overdoses, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administraton. That is a 47 percent increase from 2022 when 714 people died.
Teen deaths are on the rise as well. An average of three teens were lost to opioid overdose in 2015 to 2018. Last year, 21 teens died of overdose.
Hear from experts
The League of Education Voters will host a free webinar on May 23 to look at the issue. The event will include a statewide panel on the scale and impact of the opioid crisis on Washington communities and schools, legislation that came out of the 2024 state legislative session to tackle the crisis, how that legislation will be implemented, and how local communities and tribes are working with their government and healthcare agencies, as well as schools, to combat the epidemic.
Register
To listen on the one-hour discussion, go to LEV’s registration page.
Not able to attend in real-time? No problem. Register anyway to recieve a link to the recording.
Read more:
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