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fentanyl

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A City Council Member Examines the Alarming Rise in Homelessness Statistics, a Testament to the Mounting Housing Crisis AI Generated
A City Council Member Examines the Alarming Rise in Homelessness Statistics, a Testament to the Mounting Housing Crisis AI Generated

Jonathan Choe Joins David Josef Volodzko on The Radicalist

Click below to listen to Jonathan Choe discuss the changing journalism landscape, crime in Seattle and the failure of “defund the police,” Seattle’s stalled revitalization efforts, and the fentanyl epidemic with writer and foreign correspondent David Josef Volodzko.

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man falling down from a hole of light, surreal concept
man falling down from a hole of light, surreal concept

The Lowest Depths

Back to California. Maxim Gorky’s The Lower Depths, first staged in 1902, focuses on run-down people living in a flophouse: Vaska the thief, Nastya the prostitute, Luka the tramp, and Kvashnya the meat-pie seller, along with a downwardly-mobile baron, a suicidal actor, and others equally miserable. But in the play, at least temporarily, they are alive and conscious. If fentanyl had hit Russia then, even famed Moscow Arts Theater director Konstantin Stanislavski would have been stymied in creating some dramatic action: Users of the synthetic opioid are often inactive, with stiff limbs. Gorky portrayed lower depths, but fentanyl drops users in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district into the lowest depths, close to death. I’ve walked many crime-ridden areas by day, but Read More ›

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Encampment Returns at Site of Drug Den Inferno

They’re Already Back Late last month, Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) sent in crews to clear a massive drug den along I-5 in downtown Seattle. Authorities say a DRUG TURF WAR fueled by a revenge plot and homemade BOMBS rocked this notorious encampment. Less than two weeks later, several people have already broken in and are now setting up shop. When I showed up Sunday morning, the entrance to the fence along Yesler Way wasn’t even locked. Not sure who is running point for security on this WSDOT (@wsdot) property, but it might be time to invest in better locks and more fencing. Taking Matters into Own Hands On July 27, this encampment was “deemed an emergency,” so the city took Read More ›

Tranq Addict

Seattle “Tranq” Crisis Continues Explode

Human Tragedy The fentanyl crisis continues to play out on multiple streets in Seattle, especially in places like #Chinatown-ID. This evening, a young man in his 20’s showed me the early stages of “TRANQ FENTANYL” eating away at his skin. Pills laced with xylazine, an animal tranquilizer, are starting to show up more often on the streets. It’s also leaving addicts walking around in a zombie like stupor. Another man nearby using fentanyl said, “I can see the silhouette of a demon” in his friend’s flesh eating wound. @CampSiteSeattle and others have documented the aftermath of “tranq” across the city. There is no denying the zombie drug is here. Nothing has changed in Councilmember Tammy Morales'( @CMTammyMorales) district. Where is Read More ›

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Drug Dens Empty During Seattle Pride Parade

Fentanyl Free…Sort of On Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Pride Parade (@OurSeattlePride) flowed through downtown #Seattle and brought in a ton of people. There was also a heavy police (@SeattlePD) presence at many street corners along the parade route. For the first time in nearly a year, I saw the potential of 3rd and Pike St, free and clear of drugs and the black market of stolen goods. In reality, a few addicts were still lingering around the Ross Store vestibules and bus stops. But the insane hoards of people congregating in the drug dens were gone this past weekend. Will it remain this way at least until Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game (@mlb) in less than two weeks? Highly unlikely. Read More ›

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Another Night in Seattle, Another Overdose

Routine Night in Seattle Downtown fentanyl overdose, more drug/trap tents in front of #Seattle City Hall, and an arrest made a few blocks away in #Chinatown-ID for an altercation. Of course, the night would not be complete without a deranged person exhibiting menacing behavior towards me. Nothing to see here. Move along. This all happened within a 30 minute span Wednesday evening. Check the @seattlepd police blotter. Can’t make this stuff up. Wait until Major League Baseball (@mlb) fans see all this insanity next month. I’m gonna start charging for tours. Where’s Councilmember Andrew Lewis (@CMAndrewJLewis) and the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@kingcorha?) Councilmember Tammy Morales (@CMTammyMorales) remains MIA for her #CID district. For whatever it’s worth, City Hall Read More ›

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Increasing Fentanyl Overdoses in King County Jail as Inmates Sneak in Supply

“I’ve seen both pills and powder coming through,” Dennis Folk tells me. Folk is sounding the alarm that fentanyl is increasingly making its way into the King County jail and inmates are overdosing at a staggering rate. He is the president of the King County Corrections Guild, representing men and women who are trying to stop the flow of this lethal drug into the facility. “It was heroine years ago, now it’s fentanyl,” he tells me. Seattle Fire and medics respond to each overdose and administer Narcan. KYI Radio’s Ari Hoffman and I have been looking into this concerning trend. We’ve been told that there have been at least eight fentanyl overdoses in the jail since the end of May. Read More ›

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Breaking: 7 Inmates Hospitalized for Fentanyl Overdoses at Snohomish County Jail

Exclusive Seven inmates from the Snohomish County Jail were transported to the hospital with signs of opioid overdose on Wednesday evening. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office released a statement reporting that a corrections deputy witnessed the first inmate with signs of overdose, and while staff were treating the inmate, others began overdosing.  Five of the inmates have been released from the hospital and returned to the jail, and the other two are expected to do the same. A criminal investigation is underway by the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, and the detectives have identified an inmate who is suspected of smuggling fentanyl into the jail. As of this morning, a 37 year old inmate from Arlington has been charged with possession Read More ›