Snohomish County sees 40 overdose incidents during 2-week span

The Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force announced Wednesday that the county experienced a spike in drug overdoses in the two-week span between July 26 and Aug. 8, with crews responding to 40 incidents involving street or prescription drugs.

In comparison, SRDTF said it responded to just 10 incidents in July leading up to the spike beginning on the 26th.

SRDTF noted that not all of the 40 incidents resulted in a death. According to Snohomish County Medical Examiner records, however, there were at least 67 overdose-related deaths over the first four months of 2022.

Of those, fentanyl was present in blood toxicity reports 58% of the time. Methamphetamine was the second-most prevalent drug, which was often combined with fentanyl, SRDTF said.

“Members of the public should be aware of the prolific supply of fentanyl and methamphetamine in our community and take measures to protect themselves, friends, and loved ones,” Lt. David Hayes with SRDTF said in a news release. “While blue counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl are most common, the Drug Task Force and our law enforcement partners in the community have seen an increase of fentanyl in powder or crystal form over the past several months along with multi-color counterfeit pills.”

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