Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute > ADAI News & Events > Washington Sees Spike in New Chemicals in Street Drugs, Fentanyl (Seattle Times with ADAI’s Caleb Banta-Green)

Washington Sees Spike in New Chemicals in Street Drugs, Fentanyl (Seattle Times with ADAI’s Caleb Banta-Green)

01/08/2025

In this new article from the Seattle Times, ADAI’s Caleb Banta-Green, PhD, MPH, MSW, director of the UW Center for Community-Engaged Drug Education, Epidemiology & Research (CEDEER), says that the drug supply in Washington State is increasingly “messy,” with over 237 unique substances (some drugs, some not) found in 816 samples tested in just 6 months (June-November 2024).

This summary of 2024 WA State Community Drug Checking Network fentanyl data describes this messiness. An unpredictable supply is a more dangerous supply:

Graph showing substances detected in drugs sold as "fentanyl" in WA State in 2024 (BTMPS increased rapidly, xylazine started around 13%, dropped to under 10, and then shot up to 22%, strong fentanyl analogue (carfentanil, e.g.) started at 0 and increased to 8%, and "no fentanyl" started around 5%, shot up to 28% in summer, and is back down to 8%

These samples were gathered by drug checking technicians across WA State at community harm reduction programs and many others. Chemical analysis results presented here were conducted by UNC and NIST, and data were analyzed and reported by ADAI’s Jason Williams, Benjamin Biamont, and Leif Layman.

Read the Seattle Times article (free version) | Find more drug checking data