drug overdose
No easy answers to Whatcom fentanyl health disaster
March 8, 2023
Matt Benoit
Fentanyl is involved in an increasing number of deadly overdoses and getting treatment for addiction to the synthetic opioid is a complex process — creating a local health disaster.
photo: Amy Nelson © 2021
Pandemic job loss, quarantine, anxieties fuel opioid use surge
April 16, 2021
Heather Spaulding
The physical and emotional toll wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures has been accompanied by an increase in opioid use and related deaths over the past year — after five years of decline — in Washington state. At the same time, use of even more dangerous synthetic opioids is becoming more prevalent, making the increased use even more hazardous.