As overdoses soar, Snohomish County leaders gather to tackle drug crisis

SNOHOMISH COUNTY — Snohomish County mayors and business leaders met Thursday night for a community conversation on fentanyl, meth, and the region’s growing opioid crisis.

Just over a dozen mayors from the county were part of the conversation at Cavelero Mid-High School in Lake Stevens. Those leaders brought in Los Angeles journalist Sam Quinones, who has done extensive work reporting and researching the topics that were at the center of Thursday’s meeting. In total, Quinones has written two books about the opioid crisis.

The goal on Thursday was to get perspectives on possible solutions that have been working in other parts of the country. This is as overdose deaths in Snohomish County have increased every year since 2017.

KIRO 7 spoke with Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring beforehand, who believes that the old ways of dealing with drugs aren’t working, and that it’s time to rethink our strategy altogether.

And even while the state amending its drug possession laws has helped some, Nehring says more needs to be done. The hope with Thursday’s discussion was to gain some insight into what leaders here can do to mitigate this epidemic.

“Once you get a picture of fentanyl, you realize we’re really up against it and we’re losing the battle,” Nehring said. “People are dying and crime is rampant, and so we have to try something different.”

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