Rise in fentanyl overdoses has Pacific Northwest ‘under siege’ from cartel, says DEA

MyNorthwest | March 3, 2021


With Washington state recently reporting a staggering increase in fentanyl-related overdoses in the last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration believes a Mexican-based cartel could be to blame. The second quarter of 2020 saw 171 fentanyl-involved overdoses in Washington, according to data cited by Caleb Banta-Green, a research scientist at the UW Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute.