(UnitedVoice.com) – The fentanyl crisis is battering the United States. Drug overdose deaths topped 100,000 in 2021 and have remained there since then. A new report shows that fentanyl is a major problem for the homeless population in Los Angeles County, California.
More than 2,100 homeless people died of a fentanyl overdose in Los Angeles from 2014 to 2023. They passed away in their tents along the sides of the road, in bathrooms around the city, at homeless shelters, in hotel rooms, and everywhere in between. A new analysis from the Guardian documented just how common deaths from the deadly synthetic opioid have been in the second most populous city in the country.
In 2023, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner noted that more than 1,000 homeless people died from drug overdoses. It was the first time that many overdose deaths had been reported in the unhoused population. At least 728 of those deaths were attributed to fentanyl.
The year before, reports indicated the drug was ravaging the city’s infamous Skid Row, where tents line the streets. The neighborhood is often described as the epicenter of the homeless crisis in the city. Drug addicts are often seen roaming around, and crime is high in the area. In 2017, there were 13 fatal overdoses on Skid Row. That number shot up to 148 in 2022.
Fentanyl isn’t just impacting the homeless population around the country. The drug has left grandmothers and grandfathers dead. It has killed children and babies. Rich people have died, and so have the poor. US lawmakers have struggled to find a solution to the crisis.
Republicans have repeatedly pointed to the border as the cause. Millions of migrants have poured into the country, and it’s not clear how many drug smugglers have managed to get in undetected. The opioid epidemic is a constant cause of concern for former President Donald Trump. He has promised to close the border and stop the flow of drugs into the country if reelected.
While politicians battle one another for a solution, medical examiners across the country are adding names to the ever-growing list of overdose deaths.
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