PORTLAND, Ore. — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data this month that shows overdoses deaths are rising at a faster rate in Oregon and in Washington than anywhere else in the country.
Between September 2022 and September 2023, Oregon saw a 41.5% increase in overdose deaths. Washington was close behind with a 41.4% increase during that 12-month span. These are the predicted number of deaths, which represent estimates of the number of deaths adjusted for incomplete reporting.
Additional data within the same report from the CDC showed that fentanyl contributed greatly to these overdose deaths, increasing more than 1,500% from September 2019 (pre-pandemic) to September 2023, as first reported by the Oregonian.
Across Oregon, these statistics come as a sobering shock.
"We have just learned that Oregon is number one in the country for increase in opioid fatalities and fentanyl-related fatalities. Number one rate of increase in death in the country. This is alarming and these are real people," Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran told KGW last week. "And the disparity I see between what real people are experiencing and then what happens in this boardroom, it's staggering and it's unconscionable."
On Monday, the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response — Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber and Representative Jason Kropf — released a statement in response to the CDC data:
“Inaction is not an option. This is another sobering reminder of why we have to act this session to keep our communities safe and save lives. We’re working hard to finalize a plan that accomplishes both," the two said in the statement. "It is clear that Oregon's current approach to the drug crisis is not working, and we know the War on Drugs didn’t work either. Our goal is to put politics aside so we can chart a new course to a safer, healthier Oregon together."