Opioid Crisis

48 Stories

Washington families seek jail improvements, one settlement at a time

In a new legal settlement finalized Dec. 4, commissioners for Klickitat County in south-central Washington have committed to broad changes intended to improve medical care in jail and prevent suicides.
- Amy Radil
Everett reports 3 fentanyl overdoses in young children in 1 week

The Everett Fire Department said in a statement Thursday that this week the city’s firefighters have responded to three suspected fentanyl overdoses in very young children, one of them fatal.
- Amy Radil
Kirkland students' bill to put Narcan in schools passes the Senate, heads to House

A bill to put opioid reversal medication in every Washington public school passed out of the state Senate and is now headed to the House.
- Katie Campbell
2023 set to be deadliest year yet for overdoses in King County

King County is headed towards a somber milestone. 2023 is slated to become the deadliest on record for overdoses in the county.
- Kate Walters
Freeze! Police! What happens when people get caught doing drugs in Seattle?

Now that the dust has settled, what does the city's new drug ordinance mean for people who use drugs in public and others who witness or are otherwise impacted by that use?
- Stephen Howie
King County's hotel shelters help address one crisis while potentially hiding another

Seattle and King County have been experimenting with using hotel rooms to house people rather than directing them to crowded homeless shelters. But some service providers fear the hotel rooms could be hiding another crisis: drug overdoses.
- Kevin Kniestedt
UW researcher says there's a simple way to help people addicted to fentanyl

Addiction researchers say the FDA should revisit their prescribing guidelines for buprenorphine, one of the main medications that can help people addicted to fentanyl or other opioids by reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
- Eilís O'Neill
Drug-maker Mallinckrodt may renege on $1.7 billion opioid settlement

Victims of prescription opioid addiction as well as communities slammed by the opioid crisis could wind up with nothing if Mallinckrodt files for a second bankruptcy.
- Brian Mann
Fentanyl death toll continues to surge in King County

King County continues to face an alarming number of drug-related fatalities, many related to the potent synthetic opioid, fentanyl. According to county data, there were 3 fentanyl-involved deaths in 2015. In recent years, such deaths have risen dramatically, totaling 712 last year.
- Kate Walters
New state dashboard shows rising drug-related deaths

A new state dashboard gives further insight into the number of drug-related deaths and hospitalizations occurring in Washington. The dashboard shows there were 7,598 fatal overdoses from 2017 through 2021, the majority related to opioids. Deaths have been climbing sharply for the past few years.
- Kate Walters

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