Fentanyl became deadliest drug in LA in 2022, impacting the Black community greatly.

Fentanyl has become a serious issue in the United States, but the African American community in Los Angeles has been hit particularly hard. In 2022, the drug killed 1,910 LA County residents, more than any other racial group and more than any other drug. According to the L.A. County Public Health Department, this was a 13% increase from 2021 and a 1,652% increase from 2016.

Health officials are paying close attention to the racial disparities in the numbers. Black residents account for 21% of the deaths in 2022, which is more than double their 8% population of Los Angeles County. David Goodman-Meza, a substance use researcher and assistant professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, finds this statistic particularly concerning. “It’s really striking what the rates are now for Black individuals dying of fentanyl,” he said. “Unfortunately, because of systematic racism that Black individuals suffer in Los Angeles County, they tend to live in more marginalized communities. And they are less likely to access services.”

In 2019, Black and white residents had the same rate of fentanyl overdose deaths at 7.2 people per 100,000 residents. By 2022, the rate for Black communities had risen to 49.5 deaths per 100,000 residents. Gary Tsai, director of substance use prevention and control at the L.A. County Department of Public Health, believes that fentanyl was first used as an alternative to prescription opioids, which are popularly used by white residents.

Now, fentanyl is more accessible and added to any other street drug. Chelsea Shover, a health services researcher and assistant professor-in-residence at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, believes that this means any demographic that is prone to using illicit drugs also has a high risk of fentanyl overdoses. “People experiencing homelessness are quite overrepresented among drug overdoses generally and African Americans are absolutely overrepresented among people experiencing homelessness,” Shover said.

Fentanyl is taking over other cities and states too. In Michigan, fentanyl overdoses have doubled in the past five years, and in 2021, Louisiana recorded close to 2,463 overdose deaths blamed largely on the drug. It is clear that fentanyl has become a major problem for African Americans in Los Angeles and beyond.

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