More than 500 District residents died of opioid overdoses last year, marking another grim record in the city’s ongoing struggle to combat the growing crisis. The data shows that the number of deaths attributed to opioid use in the nation’s capital jumped 12 percent to 518, making it the fifth consecutive year of increases since fentanyl became the predominant drug in overdoses, according to a recent report from D.C.’s chief medical examiner.
According to the medical examiner’s findings, the overwhelming majority of overdose victims were older Black men. City data reveals that since 2017, more than 8 in 10 deaths due to opioid use have been among Black residents. This trend aligns with what experts are observing in other large metropolitan areas across the country, where African Americans are being disproportionately affected by powerful synthetic opioids compared to White users in rural areas.
Despite receiving significant funding from the federal government, the District’s strategy of paying nonprofits and community groups to engage users, distribute fentanyl test strips, and provide the overdose antidote naloxone has not been effective in curbing the crisis. Observers are alarmed at the continually rising numbers, with Beverlyn Settles-Reaves, a program manager at Howard University, stating, “This situation is spiraling out of control.”
Experts attribute the continued rise in overdose rates nationally to various barriers, such as limited access to medication-assisted treatment like buprenorphine, social challenges like unstable housing, insufficient infrastructure for resource distribution, and the stigma faced by users.
In comparison to other states, the District ranks fourth in opioid overdose death rate, following West Virginia, Delaware, and Maine. Maryland ranks 12th, while Virginia ranks 29th. However, it is crucial to note that comparing D.C. to states can be misleading due to the capital city’s entirely urban nature, lacking the mix of urban, suburban, and rural areas seen in states.
“The numbers speak the loudest truth, and our numbers are still going up,” said Beverlyn Settles-Reaves, a program manager who arranges treatment for patients with substance use disorder at Howard University. “This situation is spiraling out of control.”
Locally, opioid overdoses have claimed more lives than homicides in the District; however, other cities in the region are experiencing even higher rates of drug overdoses. According to an analysis by the research nonprofit KFF of provisional CDC data from 2022, the District ranks 10th among 66 large metropolitan counties with the highest drug overdose death rates. Baltimore had the highest fatal overdose rate, followed by Richmond. The data also reveals that opioids account for three-quarters of
