Sam Quinones: Fentanyl, Meth, and the Opioid Crisis

We appreciate everyone who attended the Sam Quinones: Fentanyl, Meth, and the Opioid Crisis Thursday, September 28, 2023. We had a great turnout with over 250 community members attending. This event gave an opportunity for everyone to come together as a community to learn and discuss the challenges and possible solutions to substance abuse disorders for Snohomish County.  

The guest speaker, Sam Quinones, is a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist, a reporter for 35 years, and a veteran reporter on immigration, gangs, drug trafficking, and the border. He is formerly a reporter with the L.A. Times, where he worked for 10 years. His book, “The Least of Us” was released in November 2021 and was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) award for Best Nonfiction Book of 2021. “The Least of Us” follows Quinones’ landmark book “Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic” (Bloomsbury, 2015), which ignited awareness of the epidemic won a National Book Critics Circle award for the Best Nonfiction Book of 2015.

Thank you to the Mayors and Business Leaders for Public Safety for sponsoring this important event. For more information on the coalition, visit their website at https://www.keepourcitiessafe.com/

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Overdose Prevention Town Hall

Thank you to all who attended the Overdose & Prevention Town Hall on June 8, 2023. We had a great turnout with over 70 community members from all walks of life. Also, thank you to the panelists of experts who shared their expertise on the opioid crisis, and the local community organizations who provided supportive resources for substances users as well as concerned friends and family members. The goal is to make this a biannual event. If you were unable to attend the June 8th Overdone & Prevention Town Hall, be on the lookout for future event with similar topics.

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Available Resources

• Steve Pitkin, Prevention-Intervention Specialist with the Lake Stevens School District:  https://sites.google.com/lkstevens.wednet.edu/lshssubstanceuseintervention?usp=share_link
• Drugfree.org
• National fentanyl awareness day platform
• Song for Charlie
• Drop the F bomb
• What if my youth refuses behavioral health services? What is the WA state law? 
• Tips for conversation starters and how to respond 
• Talk, they hear you. SAMHSA campaign 
• Snohomish County Treatment Resources
• Mail order- free WA state Naloxone  
• WA DOH Overdose Education and Naloxone Distribution 
• Lake Stevens School District Student Mental Health and A-Z Community Resources
• Catholic Community Services- Homepage - Catholic Community Services and Catholic Housing Services of Western Washington (ccsww.org)
• Strengthening Families Program- Strengthening Families Program | Washington State University (wsu.edu)
• Snohomish County Health Department- Snohomish Overdose Prevention
• Dawson Place- child advocacy center- Safety, Justice, Healing for Child Abuse Victims - Dawson Place
• Compassionate Friends- Find Support - Compassionate Friends
• Compass Health- Compass Health | NW Washington’s Behavioral Healthcare Leader
• Ideal Option- Ideal Option
• Cocoon House- Cocoon House
• Alanon Family Groups- Al-Anon Family Groups
• Narcotics Anonymous- NA
• Volunteers of America- Home Page - Volunteers of America (voa.org)
• DEA link (Fentanyl Awareness (dea.gov))