Seattle health officials are blaming a recent spike in drug overdose deaths on racism
.
The city has seen a drastic increase in drug overdoses over the past few years, particularly from fentanyl
. In a statement from Seattle Public Health communications specialist Sharon Bogan, officials blamed the growing problem on racism. They said “systematic changes” were needed in order to begin to address the problem.
“Since 2019, the number of overdose deaths in King County has grown exponentially, jumping by over 40% between 2021 and 2022. The pervasiveness of inexpensive and dangerous fentanyl has led to a rise in fatal overdoses across all sectors of society in King County and across America,” Bogan wrote in a statement to KIRO 7.
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“The underlying root causes that have resulted in the current overdose crisis are, unfortunately, not ones that will be reversed overnight. Structural factors, including lack of economic opportunities, social isolation, structural racism, criminalization of substance use disorders, housing stability, and stigma, are just some of the factors that will require long-term, systematic changes and resources at all levels, from federal to state to local,” she concluded.
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Whatever the cause, the death toll is so high that the King County medical examiner is looking for more space to accommodate all the corpses. On average, roughly three people died per day last year due to a drug overdose, and fentanyl was behind around 70% of those.
