Photo By: Campbell Smiley
The corner of Pine and Third, in the heart of Seattle’s down-
town district, is a hub for public drug use. One can often find people hunched
over along the sidewalk in a position known as the “Fentanyl Fold,” suffering the physical effects of opioid abuse.
Seattle, a center for drug trafficking due to its major interstate crossroads, is particularly vulnerable to fentanyl usage and trade. In early October, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Seattle Division seized 847,000 illicit fentanyl pills and six kilograms of powder. This amount alone, confiscated from a group primarily run out of King County, could have killed nearly one million people.
Fentanyl-related deaths continue to rise as the drug becomes readily avail-
able and found in many street narcotics. King County recorded 1,067 drug poisoning deaths in 2023 due to fentanyl, a 47% increase from the previous year.
The homeless population of Seattle, already vulnerable, is disproportionately affected by this crisis. 67% of deaths of people without stable housing can be attributed to fentanyl overdose.
Special Agent in Charge David Reames of the DEA’s Seattle Field Division, described fentanyl as “the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my almost 27 years as a DEA agent,” emphasizing its “great human toll” on both the Seattle area and the rest of the country.
“One pill can kill,” Reames explained. “There’s no such thing as a safe drug that you don’t get from a doctor at a pharmacy.” More lives can be saved if more people are educated on the risks of recreational drug use. The DEA’s community out reach program serves this very purpose, providing resources to warn about the
impacts of fentanyl and other opioids.
The City of Seattle has also made efforts to assist. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell implemented a $27 million plan to provide enhanced treatment facilities, addiction services, post-overdose care, and check-ins for drug users. Additionally, public drug consumption was made a gross misdemeanor to prioritize rehabilitation over incarceration, in an ordinance passed October 20, 2023.
Reames stated that the DEA has had recent success seizing powder fentanyl, in addition to “holding the trafficking groups that are selling this poison accountable.” While the end isn’t in sight yet, serious measures are being taken to make headway.
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