Overdose Deaths Continue to Rise, with Added Impact from Fentanyl
05/08/2019
Deadly overdoses in King County continue to rise, with a new high-water mark of 409 in 2018, even as new research points to high rates of deadly overdoses being unique to America.
There are more signs that the opioid epidemic both locally and
across the country has morphed into a heroin and fentanyl one, even as
attention has remained focused on pharmaceuticals. Information from the
King County Medical Examiner’s office showed that 409 people died from
drug overdoses in 2018, up from 383 in 2017, which in turn was more than
the 345 in 2016.
In addition to being much more powerful than heroin, fentanyl is also bringing with it a cycle of hysteria and dehumanization of those suffering from addiction, said Dr. Caleb Banta-Green of the University of Washington’s Alcohol an Drug Abuse Institute.
