By Jorge Casuso

July 16, 2025 -- Fentanyl overdose -- a leading killer among Santa Monica's homeless population -- saw a dramatic drop as a cause of death in Los Angeles County last year, according to a report released last month.

The report from the LA County Department of Public Health found that the number of accidental fentanyl overdose and poisoning deaths declined sharply -- from 2,001 deaths in 2023 to 1,263 deaths last year, a 37 percent drop.

The steep decline comes after deaths from fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin, skyrocketed over the past decade -- from 109 deaths in 2016 to 1,910 in 2022, a 1,652 percent surge.

"The recent sharp decline in fentanyl overdose deaths suggests that expanded County efforts in substance use and overdose prevention, treatment, and harm reduction may be contributing to a positive shift," the report concluded.

"The collective impact of these interventions offers a critical opportunity to further address the varied needs of County residents and sustain progress in reducing overdose and poisoning deaths."

In Santa Monica fentanyl and methamphetamine overdoses accounted for a surge in homeless deaths -- from 16 deaths in 2020 and 2021 combined to 31 in 2022 to a total of 53 deaths in 2023 ("Homeless Deaths Spiked in Santa Monica Last Year," June 10, 2024).

By 2023, fatal fentanyl overdoses accounted for 69 percent of all overdose deaths nationwide, according to the report.

"Even a tiny amount of fentanyl can cause death, especially for those without high tolerance," Public Health officials noted, adding that illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) "is cheap and easy to make quickly and in large quantities."

IMF "has been found in nearly all forms of illegal street drugs and counterfeit pills, as drug traffickers intentionally add fentanyl to their drugs to reduce costs, to enhance the effect of an existing drug, and/or to make their drugs more addictive," according to the report.

Fentanyl overdose deaths in LA County were most prevalent among adults aged 26 to 39 years, with the death rate among males 4.1 times higher than among females.

Hispanics accounted for the largest number of fentanyl overdose deaths with 508, followed by Whites with 456, Blacks with 232 and Asians with 26.

When adjusted for population size, the highest rates per 100,000 population were among Blacks with 29 deaths, followed by Whites with 17.4, Hispanics with 10.5 and Asians with 1.7.

According to the report, "more affluent areas had higher numbers of fentanyl overdose deaths than poorer areas."

Supervisorial District 3, the most affluent district, encompassing the Westside as well as the San Fernando Valley, had the second most fentanyl overdose deaths between 2016 and 2024, with 2,161.

Supervisorial District 1, which is more than two-thirds Hispanic and stretches from Silverlake and Eagle Rock east to the San Bernardino County line, had the most deaths with 2,476.