PORT ANGELES — Washington state’s Department of Health says preliminary data shows more people died of drug overdoses in 2020 than any other year in at least the last decade. Authorities say the effects of the coronavirus pandemic likely led to a drug use surge.
Fatal drug overdoses in our state increased by more than 30% last year compared to 2019. That’s an increase more than twice as large as any other year over the last decade.
In a recent appearance on KONP’s Todd Ortloff Show, County Coroner Mark Nichols spoke of a similar surge here in 2020, and says we’re on track to potentially see an even worse toll this year.
“The drug overdose crisis is not over. Far from it. We appear to have gone through a bit of a trend over the last six years. Where we were…we started high, we went very low and now we’re climbing and may reach new territory in the months, and maybe year or so, to come.”
Nichols says law enforcement and toxicology reports confirm an increased presence of fentanyl in the local drug supply. The widespread use of Narcan to offset the effects of a heroin overdose has contributed to saving many lives in recent years, driving totals down. But the influx of Fentanyl, a much more powerful drug, is changing all that.
“There are recreational uses occurring that are turning into fatality incidents, because people may not understand that the methamphetamine or the heroine, as the case may be, that they’re using is laced with fentanyl. Or if they do, they’re not sufficiently skilled in knowing just how powerful fentanyl is and how careful they need to be in dosing for their recreational use.”
Nichols says that despite the efforts locally and on a national level to warn against the dangers of Fentanyl, he expects the problem to get worse before it gets better.
(Prosecutor/Coroner Mark Nichols. Staff photo)