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“These numbers aren’t at all surprising and speak to what I see
as a policy failure,” Werning told The Center Square. “This is
all a product of a society that does not care about people that
have dependencies. We simply haven’t invested proper resources
to the problem. Chicago is not unique in this way, and it’s
really something we see across the country.”
With last year’s overdose death toll surpassing the previous
high of 1,935 set in 2021, officials said 91% of the most recent
deaths involved fentanyl, a synthetic drug that is up to 50
times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than
morphine.
With more than 70% of the deaths occurring in Chicago, officials
add 78% of the victims were males, with African Americans
comprising 56% of the overall deaths, whites 29% and Latinos
15%.
With overdose deaths across the country having risen nearly
every year since 2018, authorities add one of the biggest jumps
came around the time of the COVID-19 related lockdowns, with a
jump of 42% taking place between 2019 and 2020.
Werning argues people can expect more of the same if lawmakers
aren’t ready and willing to do what needs to be done.
“The war on drugs has failed and we can’t just incarcerate
people to solve this problem,” he said. "Until we start to take
more of a health focus approach we’re going to continue to see
high rates of overdoses and deaths.”
Werning and Chicago Alliance officials are pushing for an
increase in the use of harm reduction strategies, or public
health policies designed to curtail certain health and safety
issues associated with drug use. He added another goal is to
establish so-called overdose prevention sites where people can
take pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of professionals
or access other needed resources, a controversial approach that
has been attempted in other parts of the country. The group is
also working with health officials across the state to set up
initiatives such as Narcan distribution, a lifesaving drug that
reverses an opioid overdose.
“People don’t stop using drugs all at once," Werner said. “It’s
a process and it takes time and we want to keep people safe and
alive.”
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