Suspected fentanyl overdoses leave two dead in Lummi Nation

Two people died from suspected fentanyl overdose during a span of three days in Lummi Nation, according to an emergency alert put out by the Lummi Tribal Health Center and Lummi Healing Spirit Clinic on Saturday, Jan. 27.

An increase in potency of fentanyl pills is increasing the likelihood of overdoses. Testing done by the Drug Enforcement Agency in 2023 showed that 7 out of 10 pills examined contain a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl, an increase from 4 out of 10 pills in 2021.

The release encouraged community members to take three immediate steps to help decrease fentanyl overdose deaths on the reservation: carry naloxone at all times, watch a training video on how to respond to an overdose and check on loved ones who suffer from addiction.

“Fentanyl addiction is a very difficult and dangerous medical problem that is harming many people in our community,” the release stated.

Lummi Healing Spirit Clinic — also known as Q’ay tl’ et Seli — is an opiate treatment program that works in conjunction with Lummi Counseling Services offering assistance to the community. It provides naloxone kits for opiate overdose rescue.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen released his report “The Opioid Crisis in Washington’s Second Congressional District and a Comprehensive Solution.” He said the document was created to understand how pre-pandemic tools for combating the opioid crisis are being used in a new drug landscape dominated by fentanyl — and to support and bolster local efforts.

Overdose deaths in Washington spiked by 21% between 2022 and 2023 at a time when they were declining nationally by 3% according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vast majority of those deaths were connected to opioids.

Larsen’s report highlighted the vulnerability of both veterans and tribal members to opioid use disorder. It noted that American Indian and Alaska Native residents in Washington have the highest rate of death from synthetic opioid overdose, while overdose mortality rates among veterans increased by 53% between 2010 and 2019.

Lummi Chairman Anthony Hillaire has joined other tribal leaders in calling on both Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and President Joe Biden to declare a state of emergency of the fentanyl crisis.

“We’re just sick and tired of burying our young people to overdose. We’re sick and tired of having to console our mothers and grandmothers that are burying their children,” Hillaire told Cascadia Daily News on Monday, Jan. 22. “We need to do something about it. It’s easy to say it, but it’s so much harder to actually get something done.”

At least seven tribal members died of overdose over two weeks in late September 2023. The Lummi Indian Business Council declared an emergency over the fentanyl crisis on Sept. 21. Between February 2022 and February 2023, Washington state had the largest percentage increase of drug overdose deaths in the United States.

Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.