The Yakima Valley and the rest of the country has been trying to figure out the best way to handle the opioid crisis over the last few years.
But now, fentanyl deaths are on the rise in the valley at an alarming rate.
“You can see that fentanyl is on an upswing in the last two years,” County coroner Jim Curtice said. From 2014 to 2016, Department of Health numbers show Yakima County averaged around one overdose death a year to synthetic drugs; which includes fentanyl.
Which was right in between the averages for Kittitas and Benton county.
But in the last two years alone, Yakima County has seen 22 deaths from fentanyl.
Yakima county coroner Jim Curtice said those overdoses usually come from it getting mixed into the drugs people use.
Causing a deadly mix. Since fentanyl is fifty times stronger than heroin.