The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

OLYMPIA—Overdose deaths accelerated in Washington in 2020, increasing by 38% in the first half of 2020 compared to the first half of 2019. Most of that increase came from deaths involving fentanyl, a powerful opioid.

Preliminary data show 835 overdose deaths in the first six months of 2020 compared to 607 deaths in the first half of 2019. Fentanyl-involved deaths more than doubled from 137 to 309 during that time. Most deaths involved multiple substances.

The increase in overdose deaths was highest among groups already dealing with inequitable health outcomes: American Indian/Alaska Nativ...