Opioid Addiction

40 Stories

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?
Teo Popescu

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

Katie Campbell
National

Only 1 in 5 people with opioid addiction get the medications to treat it, study finds

Overdose deaths from fentanyl and other opioids have surged but medications that could save thousands of lives "are sitting on the shelf unused," according to new research.
Brian Mann
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
We don't know enough about fentanyl

Washington state topped a list you do not want to be on last week: We are tied for the fastest increase in overdose deaths in the country. Deaths are up across the US, mostly due to the very deadly fentanyl. But there’s more going on than just a new opioid. National Public Radio Addiction correspondent Brian Mann explains who is being impacted here, and what might help.
Patricia Murphy

Clare McGrane
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
Increasing overdose deaths stress King County morgue

King County is experiencing a grim indicator of how bad the opioid crisis has become — a lack of space to store bodies. Public Health Director Faisal Khan said the Medical Examiner's office has finite space in the coolers they use, and that space is being exceeded on a regular basis.
Kate Walters
A community conversation about Seattle and the overdose crisis

King County is experiencing a record amount of overdose deaths. The number of residents who died from a drug overdose has doubled over the past five years. KUOW invited a panel of experts in the field of addiction and recovery to share their on-the-ground experience and answer your questions about this public health crisis. Here are a few key takeaways from that conversation.
Anna Boiko-Weyrauch

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