The number of people dying in King County from prescription-type opiate overdoses continues to rise, according to the just-released 2009 King County Drug Abuse Trends, an annual report to the Community Epidemiology Work Group. The report is prepared by local researchers, public health experts, law enforcement officials and service providers, led by Caleb Banta-Green, research scientist at the UW Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute.
From the 2009 report:
- Prescription-type opiate-involved deaths continued to increase in King County in 2009, accounting for 160 out of 253 drug overdoses. This compares with 21 prescription-type opiate deaths in 1997.
- 83 percent of these deaths in 2009 involved another substance, most often prescription-type anti-anxiety medicines (e.g. Valium, Xanax).
- One in four of the deaths also involved an illegal drug; almost half of those who died were women.
- Treatment agencies are seeing the impact of prescription-type opiates in both King County and throughout the rest of the state. More than half of those entering treatment for addiction to prescription-type opiates are between the ages of 18 to 29, for example, with 440 young adults entering treatment in King County alone in 2009.
- Researchers also found that young adult use of heroin continues to increase over the past decade. In 2009, nearly 30 percent (471) of heroin users who entered drug treatment were between the ages of 18 and 29, compared with 17 percent (326) in 1999.
- Misuse of prescription opiates may lead to an overdose, based on the drug trends report. Serious opioid overdoses (heroin and/or pharmaceutical) within the prior year were reported by 16 percent of King County syringe exchange survey respondents in 2009. More than 40 percent of these respondents reported that they had witnessed a serious overdose in the prior year. Emergency medical help was summoned by calling 911 during 61 percent of the most recently witnessed overdoses.
