In response to newly released data by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that drug overdose deaths rose by 29% in 2020, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn released the following statement:
“The people who continue to die from addiction are children, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters — families who are broken apart by tragedy,” Dunn said. “These numbers are not just statistics, but a tragic loss of human life in King County and across the country. We need to do better. I will be introducing new legislation in the next week to amplify our fight against the opioid epidemic here at home. The urgency of the need is difficult to overstate and demands action.”
According to the CDC provisional data, a record 93,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2020. Data released previously by the King County Medical Examiner show a 24% increase in overdose-related deaths in 2020 and an even larger increase – of 118% – over the last decade. King County has also seen a spike in fentanyl overdose deaths, rising from three in 2015 to 174 in 2020, according to Public Health Seattle & King County. A CDC study indicates that 40% of adults are experiencing adverse mental or behavioral health conditions during the pandemic, with 13% reporting increased drug and alcohol addiction to cope with stress or emotions related to COVID-19.
This year, Dunn has pushed forward several initiatives to address substance use, addiction, and overdose deaths. These include holding King County’s first Conference on Addiction Disorders, inclusion of substance use disorder supports for youth in the Best Starts for Kids levy, legislation to raise awareness of King County’s safe medicine return program, funding for the Recovery Café in SODO Seattle, and a campaign to reduce the stigma of substance use disorders. In addition, he spearheaded an effort to create new legal privacy protections for virtual recovery meetings. Dunn’s previous efforts include statewide legislation to protect communication during drug recovery programs and working to increase addiction recovery beds at Harborview Medical Center.
