LA County Sees Record Number Of Drug Overdoses

The number of L.A. residents dying from fentanyl overdoses shot up 1600% over the past six years. A record 3,220 people died of drug overdoses in Los Angeles County in 2022. Fentanyl surpassed methamphetamine to become the most common drug in fatal overdoses.  Reporter: Jackie Fortier, LAist The state’s poorest children are having to wait for weeks, sometimes months, to receive urgent mental health care. When someone calls to make an urgent psychiatric appointment for a child, the state standard is for that appointment to be within four days. A new audit found that’s not happening for 40% of kids - some have to wait months to get an appointment. Reporter: Kate Wolffe, CapRadio The often glaring health disparities between Black and white Americans are known, like African Americans having an average lifespan that’s six years shorter compared to white people. But now research points to another disparity, involving grief and bereavement.  Reporter: April Dembosky, KQED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices