Rep. Larsen outlines 'to do' list for opioid crisis
By The Herald Editorial Board
Provided a foothold from the two-decade prescription opioid epidemic that began in 1999, opioid overdose deaths across the nation greatly increased during the covid-19 pandemic, with prescription pills largely supplanted by illicit fentanyl, more potent and easier and cheaper to produce.
While devastating across the country, the fentanyl crisis has been particularly deadly in Washington state. For the years between February 2020 and February 2023, Washington state had the highest percentage increase in opioid overdose deaths in the nation.
It has yet to lose that terrible lead. Tracking by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a 12-month average increase of 37 percent in reported overdose deaths in the state, from August 2022 to August 2023; that’s against a 1 percent drop in reported overdose deaths nationwide for the same 12-month period.
A new report by the office of 2nd Congressional District Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Eveett, has found — to no one’s surprise — similar trends since 2016 among the 2nd District’s five counties — Snohomish, Island, Skagit, Whatcom and San Juan — with Whatcom and Snohomish counties tracking near the state rate of opioid deaths of nearly 25 per 100,000 residents in 2022, with only slight declines to less than 20 deaths per 100,000 for Island and Skagit counties.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-rep-larsen-outlines-to-do-list-for-opioid-crisis/