After public discourse and community activism calling attention to the District’s rising drug challenges, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser officially declared the opioid crisis a public emergency on Monday.
This decree comes a week after the D.C. Council unanimously voted on a resolution agreeing the mayor should enact a public emergency. The opioid abatement commission congruently voted to declare the epidemic a public emergency the following day.
“I want to acknowledge and declare this emergency, not to just say that the work to curb opioid overdoses isn’t already happening, but in some cases to speed up that work [and] the procurement of services,” said Bowser during Monday’s press conference at the John A. Wilson building in downtown Washington.
As of July 31, 296 opioid overdoses had been reported by the D.C. Medical Chief Examiner. This year is expected to exceed last year’s record, projecting more than 507 opioid-related fatalities by the end of the year.
Taking immediate effect, the emergency order will suspend certain contracting, allowing quicker access to provide services. The order will also guide District agencies to utilize a collective overdose-tracking system in order to ensure outreach teams can respond to hot spot areas around the city more effectively.
Mayor Bowser’s declaration of a public emergency follows the onset of the District’s opioid abatement advisory commission, as well as the recent opening of the city’s first stabilization center at 35 K Street NE. The new stabilization center has already provided care to 139 residents, two-thirds of whom were transported by fire and emergency services personnel, as reported by Robert Holman, medical director of D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
The Opioid Crisis and City Youth
The opioid epidemic is trickling down to one of the District’s most vulnerable populations: youth.
Drug prevention specialists continuously work to warn residents of the rising dangers of illicit drugs, particularly fentanyl, penetrating the city’s drug market.
Incidents of marijuana unknowingly laced with fentanyl, and recreational use of an increasingly popular cocktail called “boot,” a mix of meth with ecstasy and other drugs, are becoming popular dangers among the city’s younger population. Some critics of the opioid crisis suspect that drug abuse lies beneath the influx of youth violence and crime in the District..
“It’s an umbrella with respect to our children that we have to talk about. I think this is a great opportunity, but I also want you to understand that this is a medical issue, as opposed to just a psychosocial issue,” Dr. Edwin Chapman stated to his colleagues during the second opioid abatement commission meeting.
While the youth opioid crisis has become a growing issue of concern across the District, residents residing across jurisdiction lines are also feeling the rising detriment of overdoses, calling for greater attention to address the emergency.
Within just three weeks, Parkdale High School in Loudoun County has recorded nine overdoses of teenage children. The frightening incidents pushed Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin to call for an executive order for the Department of Education to issue guidance to local schools mandating correspondence to notify parents after an overdose takes place.
“We are trying to crack the drug rings, we are trying to stop the flow. Unfortunately, right now, they have been winning. And so every child is at risk,” Youngkin proclaimed during a press conference addressing the student emergency.
According to the Virginia Department of Health Office of Chief Medical Examiner’s Fatal Drug Overdose Quarterly Report, the state has seen a consistent increase in annual opioid fatalities since 2013, with a total of 559 overdose deaths in just the first quarter of 2023. Based on the growing quarterly trends, the numbers are expected to surpass the total opioid fatalities of 2022, a total of 2,141 deaths, by the end of this year.
Although D.C. annual numbers of opioid fatalities pale in comparison to Virginia’s, primarily due to the size of the state as opposed to the city, local drug prevention advocates predict incidents may be higher than expected among the District’s youth population.
“We have several overdoses every day that are not recorded,” said Demetrius Jones, Opioid Abatement Commission member and community mobilizer for the District of Columbia Prevention Center.
“Even though we have legislation in place for people to not be charged for paraphernalia or drug possession if they call the police or ambulance to save a person, a lot of times if they have Narcan in their hand they may forgo calling 911,” Jones explained. “A lot of times [children] don’t want their parents to know that they have an opioid use disorder.”
While recent efforts are a significant start to containing the issue, Ambrose Lane Jr. emphasized the need for swiftly examining recovery resources in communities most affected by the opioid epidemic. As chief of the District’s Health Alliance Network, Lane said immediate action is necessary in order to place a firm grip on the issue before it continues to worsen in months and years to come.
“The data shows it is Wards 8, 5 and 7, in that order, in the number of opioid deaths in the city. The money that Dr. Bazon pointed out totals almost more than $50 million already being spent,” Lane proclaimed, referencing the opioid abatement commission meeting. “So there does need to be an analysis of how that money is being spent and how effective it is before one dime of the opioid abatement money is spent. We need legislation to address this issue.”