(The Center Square) – With just a few days left in the year, the grim drug overdose statistics in King County for 2023 highlight one of the biggest issues local jurisdictions face in 2024: the fentanyl epidemic.
Throughout King County, there have been 1,269 drug overdose deaths as of Thursday. Looking more closely, 1,052 of those deaths involved fentanyl, or about 83% of the total overdose deaths.
In comparison, there were 1,000 drug overdose deaths in 2022, with 717 involving fentanyl, according to statistics from Seattle – King County Public Health. As previously reported by The Center Square, King County surpassed last year’s record of some 1,000 drug overdose death in just 10 months this year.
King County officials are aware of the situation and have prioritized using funds to provide drug addiction treatment and other related services. King County Executive Dow Constantine announced a new proposal that would utilize $21 million in settlement funds to be used for community-based prevention services.
The funds stem from state settled litigation against three opioid distributors in 2022. The jurisdictions will recover a total of $518 million over the next 17 years from McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp.
King County’s settlement is estimated to bring in between $1 million to $1.5 million per year over the next 17 years. In total the county is set to be allocated $56 million from the settlement. That is the most out of all Washington state counties.
Services could entail locating drug prevention and response programs in supportive housing, expanding counseling services and providing access to services for people not connected to care.
In Seattle, Mayor Bruce Harrell issued an executive order that seeks to utilize a dual public health and public safety approach earlier this year. The executive order prioritizes treatment for people addicted to drugs and working with law enforcement to hold dealers, traffickers and those causing the most harm accountable.
The city’s Fentanyl Systems Work Group is continuing work on improving how the criminal legal system interacts with people who suffer from drug addiction. The work group will assess the region’s diversion and treatment systems and evaluate a potential successor to community court.
