wellness center
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.