All over the US, the opioid crisis is a serious problem. In Seattle, Washington, the morgues are running out of space to store the dead bodies from overdoses.

King County in Seattle is being overwhelmed by fentanyl overdoses. 

Public Health Director for King County, Dr. Faisal Khan, spoke about the problem during a health board meeting on January 19. He said the problem was severe in 2022, and is threatening to get worse this year. The County Medical Examiner’s office is now struggling to find space for bodies as the fentanyl-related death toll rises.

Fentanyl overdoses have surged in the last few years in King County, as they have in other parts of the country. In 2020, King County recorded 173 fentanyl overdoses. By 2021, the number had increased by 122%, with 385 fentanyl-related deaths. The highest recorded number of fentanyl deaths in King County, 685, was recorded in 2022.

In addition to drug overdose deaths, the medical examiner also deals with other deaths in the county.

When space runs out, the bodies are stored on autopsy gurneys. Funeral homes in the area help out with storage when required.

Dr. Khan said that the main reason for fatal drug overdoses is that drug dealers add fentanyl to cocaine, heroin, and fake pills and flood the market with fentanyl-laced drugs.

According to the CDC, fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is a highly addictive drug and drug dealers mix it with other drugs to create a highly addictive substance that keeps the users hooked. It is easy to overdose on fentanyl when it is mixed with other drugs.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that almost 92,000 people in the US died from drug-related overdoses in 2020 compared to 70,630 people in 2019. Fatalities from synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, were 56,516 in 2020.