Drug Task Force: As of late April, nearly 100 had died of an overdose in Snohomish County year to date

Lake Stevens city leaders and the school district hosted an overdose prevention town hall event Thursday, where the community learned about how drugs were impacting the community so far in 2023.  

Maria Rippo says her family will celebrate September 9th, as her 23-year-old son approaches a milestone of sobriety. 

"He will be five years clean form September this year," said Maria.  

"I go all out for him, we have a party," said Bella, his sister. 

Maria says her son, now 23, was a lacrosse player dealing with an injury.  As a teen, he started using Xanax and cannabis and eventually started to use heroin.  He was caught committing a crime of opportunity.  His family says the arrest was a blessing in disguise. 

"What he will say is he finally felt free in jail and drug court kept him so accountable," said Rippo.  "We knew he was a heroin addict when we got the call from jail, we did not know this was going on." 

His family says they believe he is alive because they talked about his substance abuse as a family and didn't give up.  They say it was a long road, but others can learn from their experiences.   

"What we see and focus on right now is fentanyl and methamphetamine," Lt. David Hayes, Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force.

Lt David Hayes says those are the drugs most responsible for overdose deaths right now in the area.  

Featured

More states legalize fentanyl test strips to fight rising opioid deaths

Roughly 20 states have legalized the test strips to stop rising deaths from the opioid crisis. The strips are still technically illegal in some states under drug paraphernalia laws.

As far as what fentanyl looks like, it can be pressed into blue pills, but Hayes says it's also being sold now as a powder, sometimes in bright colors, such as neon yellow or pink, with street names like "skittles" or "lucky charms". 

"You see them in different colors, sometimes they are speckled," says Hayes. 

 The Snohomish County Drug Task Force reports that drugs like fentanyl and meth are currently cheaply priced and easy to access.  Fentanyl is reportedly priced at as low as $ .25-cents per pill and $40 - $50 per gram of powder. While meth can sell for as low as  $20 per gram. 

"It’s changed to be an even deadlier situation for the folks we have in our community," said Brett Gailey, the mayor of Lake Stevens & former police officer.  "In treatment for fentanyl, it’s such a vast difference.  Heroin was usually a 28-day program. Fentanyl has got to be a 6-month program before you can really get out of the effects of fentanyl and really get onto a 12-step program."

Snohomish County reports that there were 99 overdose deaths YTD by the end of April 2023.

Hayes says the drugs of today are also stronger than the drugs of the past.  He says they are often made synthetically and have proven to be much more intense and impact the body differently.

After getting clean, his sister Bella created a line of sweatshirts to sell online in his honor, amplifying the voice of young people who want to speak out against drugs and the associated dangers.

"Just trying to spread that word that this is a problem," said Bella. "I try to put that out to my friends."

The mother and daughter duo had another relative die of alcoholism a couple of years ago. They believe the key to tackling the crisis starts with conversation.

"Talking about it, I realize I’m not as alone as I thought I was," said Bella.

"It’s so important that we talk about it, that people are supported and not feeling alone," said Maria.

Get breaking news alerts in the FREE FOX 13 Seattle app. Download for Apple iOS or Android. And sign up for BREAKING NEWS emails delivered straight to your inbox.

Mental health and drug counselors say the number one leading risk factor for addiction is a family history and genetics.