Fentanyl deaths in L.A. County soared 1,280% between 2016 and 2021, report finds

Deaths tied to illicit fentanyl have skyrocketed in Los Angeles County, with more than 13 times as many people losing their lives in 2021 than in 2016, according to a report released Tuesday.

The latest findings from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health underscore the threat of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid much more powerful than heroin that has been found mingled with methamphetamine and other illegal drugs and consumed unknowingly in counterfeit pills.

Across the country, roughly 70,000 people die annually from overdoses linked to synthetic opioids, a number that has more than doubled in three years, according to federal figures.

In L.A. County, the number of deaths linked to fentanyl rose from 109 in 2016 to 1,504 in 2021, amounting to a 1,280% increase, the county public health department found. Last year, fentanyl was involved in 55% of overdose deaths across the county, and among 12- to 17-year-olds who died of an overdose, the vast majority — 92% — tested positive for fentanyl.

The powerful drug is especially dangerous for people without a high tolerance for opioids, including teens, who have been dying of overdoses at increased rates in the U.S. even as teen drug use has fallen, UCLA researchers have found. But its sheer potency can also jeopardize longtime users of illegal drugs, said Dr. Gary Tsai, director of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Control division at the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

The massive rise in deaths “should be a serious concern for everyone,” Tsai said, adding, “Everyone is potentially at risk.”

Emergency room visits and hospitalizations tied to fentanyl overdoses also surged in L.A. County in recent years, but not to the same degree as overdose deaths from fentanyl. That “suggests that a lot of people are dying before they have a chance to make it to the emergency room and then ultimately make it into the hospital,” Tsai said.

“We’re talking a matter of minutes where someone can ingest a pill and they can stop breathing. If someone doesn’t come across them and administer naloxone” — a medication that can reverse the effects of opioids — “they can very easily die before ever having a chance to make it to the hospital,” Tsai said.

County officials stressed that no group was left untouched by the crisis, but also raised concerns about racial and income disparities that might be overlooked at first glance. More white residents than Black residents died of fentanyl overdoses in L.A. County last year, but Black people were dying at higher rates. Black people make up 8% of the L.A. County population, but accounted for 17% of deaths from fentanyl overdoses in the county last year, the report found.

There were also many more deaths from fentanyl overdoses recorded last year in the richest areas of L.A. County than in the poorest ones, but rates of dying from fentanyl were more than three times as high in the poorest parts of L.A. County than the wealthiest ones, the report found.

Public health officials stressed that there are tools to combat the deadly threat. Fentanyl can be detected using testing strips to ensure that people do not take the drug unknowingly. Its deadly effects can be reversed with naloxone, which is widely known as a nasal spray under the brand name Narcan.

L.A. County has pushed to put tens of thousands of boxes of Narcan into the hands of people in vulnerable communities, equipping them to rescue others. L.A. public schools announced they would start stocking Narcan this fall after a string of teen overdoses, and county officials want L.A. County libraries to do so as well. Across California, community groups can get free naloxone through a state program, but booming demand has led to longer waits for programs to get the lifesaving medication.

Tsai said the county plans to roll out a new campaign focused on educating the public about the risks of fentanyl, continue to expand naloxone access, and ensure that more people can get medications to assist with addiction treatment.

The report emphasized the ongoing need for “harm reduction” strategies that seek to reduce the harmful effects of drug use, including expanding access to Narcan and fentanyl testing strips, as well as creating “safer consumption sites” where people could use drugs under supervision and get immediate help if they overdose.

Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a state bill that would have allowed such sites to be launched through pilot programs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, but advocates have vowed to keep pursuing the idea, which is already underway in New York City and has been approved by lawmakers in Rhode Island.