Record increase in fentanyl overdoses due to lax Democrat approach to hard drugs

OLYMPIA…Properly storing the dead is proving to be more than the Seattle-King County Morgue can handle. Public Health Director Dr. Faisal Khan attributes the shortage of morgue space to record increases in fentanyl overdoses across the county – 35 people this month alone. King County saw 686 fentanyl-related deaths in 2021. Officials expect the deaths from 2022 to be even higher once final numbers are compiled.

Senate Republican Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, issued the following statement in response to reports of the lack of storage and its ties to the abuse of hard drugs.

“Those who support legislation that essentially legalizes hard drugs should be ashamed of the real-world consequences of their misguided ideologies. That includes Democrats in our state Legislature who won’t listen to the pleas of law enforcement, community leaders and families who must confront the drug crisis head on.

“The idea that Seattle is scrambling to find alternative cold-storage options for the dead is like something out of a dystopian movie, thanks to permissive drug laws and the lack of adequate treatment options. The fentanyl-related death toll is like a cancer spreading across Washington.

“Democrats are running out of time to decide whether they will move past virtue-signaling to expand access to substance-abuse treatment and compel drug addicts on the street into long-term treatment programs. We often think only people living in homeless camps are at risk of overdose, but it’s gone far beyond the clusters of tents and RVs to now include average homes and college campuses. Stronger drug laws and better enforcement of those laws are critical to any possible solution. Allowing addicts to use until they die in the streets is not empathy. It’s apathy.”