A new report from the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shows opioid overdose deaths in the District hit a record high last year.
The medical examiner’s office studied 2,595 opioid-related deaths from 2017 through 2023.
In 2023, there were 518 opioid overdose deaths in the District, according to the report. That marked a 12% increase from 2022, amounting to 43 deaths per month.
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Compare that to 274 homicides in D.C. in 2023 — a statistic that received significant negative attention.
“I believe part the reason we haven’t had more attention called to this issue is because of who it’s impacting,” Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker said. “Many of them Black and brown. Many of them happening in wards 7 and 8.”
He has been pressing for more action, and quickly.
“More direct outreach in communities that are plagued by overdoses,” Parker said. “One of the things I’m proudest of is I was able to secure direct outreach in Ward 5 to address the opioid crisis in this community in Ivy City, but I’m calling on the mayor to do more.”
Fentanyl was the most-used opioid in overdose deaths, according to the report.
The report also warned about the drug xylazine, which is being mixed with fentanyl and is resistant to the overdose-reversing drug naloxone.
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