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Clallam tracking to largest yearly overdose death rate

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PORT ANGELES — New data shows the number of people dying from overdoses has hit a record high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated more than 100,000 people were killed from April of last year to this year — that’s the most ever over a 12-month period.

The local numbers are also climbing during the pandemic.

Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney and Coroner Mark Nichols says through the first ten months of this year, there have been 24 overdose deaths in Clallam County.

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“That places us at the highest level we’ve ever seen. In fact, I think the next highest year was 2016. And in that year, I believe we had 19 drug overdoses for the entire year, which placed us as the third-highest county by population, in relation to overdose activity.”

Nichols says there has been a marked increase in methamphetamine use, and fentanyl is also contributing to the problem.

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“Twenty four drug overdoses really speaks to the need for our communities, across the county, to recognize that this is an area where we’re having significant trouble and it’s really starting to rise to the level of a public health crisis.”

Nichols says most overdose deaths locally have been people between the ages of 30 and 60.

CDC stats showed Washington state reported more than 1,800 overdose deaths between April 2020 and April of this year. That’s a 36% increase from the same time the year before.