39 Percent More Drug Dealing Cases Filed Year Over Year
As of July 31, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has filed 200 drug dealing cases so far this year. Nearly 70% of those involved fentanyl or methamphetamine. This number represents a 39% increase from the number of drug dealing cases filed during the same period in 2022 (143 dealing cases in January-July 2022).
“I am committed to holding drug dealers accountable because their actions and behaviors harm individuals and our communities,” said King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion. “The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charges those who deal fentanyl because this behavior is illegal and causes harm.”
Of the 200 drug dealing cases filed this year, 22 of those cases (11%) also had a firearms-related charge.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute the people who deal fentanyl and other illegal drugs in our communities.
Regarding separate public drug use cases, the City of Seattle and other municipalities are responsible for public drug use cases in their own cities. That cannot simply be passed to the counties, according to state law (RCW.39.34.180). The State Attorney General’s Office has also made that legal interpretation clear in two opinions (available here and here).
According to the most recent data from Public Health — Seattle and King County, there have been 825 confirmed drug overdose or alcohol poisoning deaths. Of those, 704 involved opioids, 682 involved fentanyl, and 443 involved meth, according to the Public Health Dashboard. In all 2022, the total numbers were 802 deaths involving opioids, 712 involving fentanyl and 532 involving meth, according to the dashboard.
