Westneat: Seattle’s fentanyl epidemic is finally easing. By why?

That’s what the data shows. Overdose calls in Seattle have finally gone down, by 13 percent in the first six months of 2024 versus last year. More recently, the picture looks even better. For the second quarter — April, May and June — overdose calls were down 24 percent compared to the second quarter of 2023.

Officials say there’s little doubt that the availability of the overdose treatment Narcan has helped. It’s permeated the culture. At some homeless encampments, I’ve seen makeshift cardboard signs advertising “Narcan available here.”

“We’ve absolutely flooded the streets with Narcan,” Kowalcyk said. She suspects that when someone gets revived by friends or onlookers, maybe no one calls 911. They still should, but perhaps this explains the reduced call volume.

Others said it’s gotten easier to get opioid medications such as methadone or buprenorphine.

Evergreen Treatment has a mobile methadone van in Belltown, and this week is launching a new one in Pioneer Square. In February, the Seattle Fire Department paramedics got permission from the state to give buprenorphine at the scene of an overdose.

The medicines help with cravings and withdrawal symptoms. They aren’t cures. But any day someone addicted to opioids uses one of these is also a day they’re less likely to overdose or die.

It’s also possible a controversial new public drug use ordinance has helped. The mayor’s office says that through mid-June police had made 355 arrests, with 53 of those booked into jail (only for other crimes, such as illegal gun possession). The vast majority were referred to counselors with the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program, LEAD, where 174 had signed up for further visits.

It isn’t known whether this had any effect on fewer overdose calls.

It also could be the fentanyl scourge is simply peaking on its own, as drug epidemics often do.

Washington has been one of the worst states for rising deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With the improving Seattle and King County data, that should soon turn around.

This “shadow epidemic” has been one of Seattle’s worst public health debacles. More Seattleites died of drug overdoses in a single year in 2023 (763) than have died of COVID-19 in the city during the entire four years of that virus’ run (750 total COVID deaths).

Add in the nexus of mental distress, homelessness and crime, and the drug crisis has been a disaster for the city. Most disappointing is that politicians didn’t meet the challenge with anywhere near the needed sense of urgency. But that doesn’t change that things finally are trending the right way. Even if no one is quite sure why.

As Jon Ehrenfeld of the Seattle Fire Department told me: “Last year was a very tough time for this city. What’s starting to work in our favor? We don’t know for certain. But we’ll take it.”