SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — There’s good news this week in public health: overdose deaths declined in 2024. In Spokane County, however, the opposite is true.
The CDC released provisional data Wednesday, showing a 26.9% decline in drug overdose deaths in 2024.
Spokane County, however, saw a 16.9% rise in overdose deaths, from 301 in 2023 to 352 last year.
The CDC says overdose deaths went down 11.9% in Washington as a whole. The data also shows a 13% decline in Idaho.
The increase in Spokane County has sparked a community conversation and a promise by local jurisdictions to look for collaborative solutions.
Spokane County Medical Examiner Dr. Veena Singh says she’s encouraged by the collaboration, but concerned about the potency of the drugs that are killing people here and the unpredictability of street drugs.
“It might have fentanyl and cocaine and maybe some caffeine and also some talcum powder and then some other stuff like novel benzodiazepine or some other drugs that never were on the market,” Singh said. “But now they’re just being manufactured and kind of put in to enhance these products or dilute the products or whatever the mixers are trying to do with them.”
IN-DEPTH COVERAGE: Spokane County Medical Examiner’s inside look at surging overdose deaths
Dr. Singh believes that tackling the mental health issues underlying the drug use is important in addressing the crisis.
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