PORT ANGELES — Clallam County mortality statistics for 2021 show a marked uptick in overdose deaths.

County Prosecutor and Coroner Mark Nichols says there were twenty-four confirmed overdoses in 2021. There are also ten more pending toxicology reports.

“And that will probably bump the overall drug overdose figure for 2021 to 34 cases. And that is that is far and away the most we’ve ever had. It’s very concerning,” said Nichols.

Nichols says the potential thirty-four overdoses is far higher than the highest overdose death number in recent history, 2016

“I believe in 2016, it was like we had 19 which was a very bad year, but nothing by way of comparison to what we’re seeing.”

Nichols says the overdoses are being driven by methamphetamine and fentanyl.

” The majority of overdose cases that we’ve seen involved methamphetamine followed by fentanyl. And Fentanyl is a very, very powerful opioid. In fact, it’s so powerful that some of the substances or compounds such as Narcan, which can turn a heroin overdose that would otherwise be fatal into a non-fatal event,  really are not very effective for a number of reasons.”

Nichols say 2021 saw no homicides in Clallam County. There were twenty suicides and forty-seven accidental deaths.