To combat fentanyl, Snohomish County trickles out cash to recovery groups

EVERETT — Snohomish County will give a slim slice out of a $28.9 million pie to organizations helping with substance abuse recovery, County Executive Dave Somers announced Tuesday.

As of last October, Washington had won more than $1.1 billion from multiple lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies for their roles in the opioid crisis. The state awarded half to local governments. By December, $28.9 million began flowing into Snohomish County.

The county plans to split $77,800 of that money among 11 organizations that help people with substance use disorder. The move is part of the county-led Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) Group’s strategy to combat the crisis through local outreach services.

Last year, at least 269 people died from opioid overdoses in Snohomish County. From 2021 to 2023, fentanyl-related deaths jumped from 159 people to 226 people. So far this year, 31 people in the county have died from opioid overdoses. Fentanyl has been a factor in 27 of those deaths.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/to-combat-fentanyl-snohomish-county-trickles-out-cash-to-recovery-groups/