FILE - This undated file photo provided by the U.S. Attorneys Office for Utah and introduced as evidence at a trial shows fentanyl-laced fake oxycodone pills collected during an investigation.
Uncredited / AP
The synthetic opioid fentanyl has been implicated in the huge increase in fatal overdoses in Oregon over the last few years.
There were 460 unintentional opioid overdoses in Oregon last year. That’s nearly double the number from 2019.
John McIlveen is the state opioid treatment authority/manager at the Oregon Health Authority.
“Fentanyl has been an issue in the Northeast and the industrial upper Midwest for years, and it really never hit in the West coast. And that is occurring like a tidal wave,” McIlveen said.
McIlveen says fentanyl overdoses seem to be affecting more young people and people of color. He also says the pandemic impacted the rise in overdoses.