Seattle Ramps Up Anti-Overdose Efforts Amid Fentanyl Crisis

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan held a press conference Thursday morning, laying out the city's latest plans to combat the rapid rise of deadly fentanyl-tainted pills in recent months.

Durkan noted a marked shift in the drug's prevalence, comparing just 187 fentanyl-laced pills seized by police in 2018 to an extraordinary 220,000 confiscated in 2019. The mayor said the trend continued to rise with the new year, with 40,000 tainted opioid pills recovered by officers in January alone.

"We have to combat this opioid epidemic everywhere we can," Durkan said.

Last year, at least eight Seattle-area teenagers died from overdoses related to fentanyl, including 17-year-old Ballard High School student Gabe Lilienthal. In each case, authorities said young people had purchased tainted pills they believed to be authentic prescription drugs. Lilienthal's mother, Deborah Savran, spoke at Thursday's press conference.

Related: Sammamish Teen Deaths Highlight Regionwide Fentanyl Crisis

"It was four months and one day ago that Gabe passed away," Savran said. "He went out the night before with a friend and, as far as we know, it was the first time he had ever tried something like this. He bought something that appeared to be a prescription oxycodone pill and he took half of it, which was enough to be a fatal dose."

In response, city officials will bolster ongoing efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl and expand access to Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

Durkan said the city would buy 700 new overdose reversal kits to be distributed across the city in areas identified as high risk, including Seattle public schools. The city plans to hold more than two dozen training sessions and ensure all school nurses are equipped to administer the drug.

"So many kids don't realize the dangers of what they are doing," Durkan said.

Another area of emphasis will be the city's nightlife corridors, where the Office of Economic Development will launch a "Narcan for Nightlife" program to educate businesses and patrons about the dangers of fentanyl and how to react when an overdose occurs.

Officers with the Seattle Police Department, and police and fire agencies in Washington, already carry Narcan. According to the mayor, Seattle paramedics administered the overdose-reversal drug more than 330 times in 2019.