• We don't know enough about fentanyl

  Washington state topped a list you do not want to be on last week: We are tied for the fastest increase in overdose deaths in the country. Deaths are up across the US, mostly due to the very deadly fentanyl. But there’s more going on than just a new opioid. National Public Radio Addiction correspondent Brian Mann explains who is being impacted here, and what might help.

  • Clare McGrane
  • Patricia Murphy

  Listen 15 mins

• Opioids are overrated for some common back pain, a study suggests

  New research calls into question prescribing the drugs even for short-term pain relief – especially given the risk of addiction.

  • Will Stone

• UW researcher says there's a simple way to help people addicted to fentanyl

  Addiction researchers say the FDA should revisit their prescribing guidelines for buprenorphine, one of the main medications that can help people addicted to fentanyl or other opioids by reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

  • Eilís O'Neill

  Listen 2 mins

• King County's hotel shelters help address one crisis while potentially hiding another

  Seattle and King County have been experimenting with using hotel rooms to house people rather than directing them to crowded homeless shelters. But some service providers fear the hotel rooms could be hiding another crisis: drug overdoses.

  • Katie Campbell
  • Kevin Kniestedt

  Listen 6 mins

• Freeze! Police! What happens when people get caught doing drugs in Seattle?

  Now that the dust has settled, what does the city's new drug ordinance mean for people who use drugs in public and others who witness or are otherwise impacted by that use?

  • Stephen Howie
  • Teo Popescu

• 2023 set to be deadliest year yet for overdoses in King County

  King County is headed towards a somber milestone. 2023 is slated to become the deadliest on record for overdoses in the county.

  • Kate Walters

• Natural gas, opioids and DUIs: Highlights from week 3 of Washington's legislative session

  Preventing more deaths on Washington roads and responding to the opioid crisis were top of mind for many in Olympia this week, with lawmakers about a third of the way through the year's legislative session.

  • Jeanie Lindsay

  Listen 5 mins

• Kirkland students' bill to put Narcan in schools passes the Senate, heads to House

  A bill to put opioid reversal medication in every Washington public school passed out of the state Senate and is now headed to the House.

  • Katie Campbell
  • John O'Brien

• Curriculum about fentanyl, other opioids could come to WA junior high classrooms

  Washington state's opioid death toll is climbing faster than anywhere else in the country, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's why schools may soon be required to teach students about the risks.

  • Sami West

• Mayor Harrell wants to triple Seattle's spending on opioid treatment

  Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has unveiled his public health priorities for the 2025 budget. He proposes tripling the amount of money the city is spending on opioid treatment: from $5.33 million to $14.57 million.

  • Eilís O'Neill

1 of 7

Next