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Despite an encouraging national dip in the past year, overdose deaths are still on the rise in many Western states as the epicenter of the nation鈥檚 continuing crisis shifts toward the Pacific Coast, where deadly fentanyl and also methamphetamine are finding more victims.

The western spread of fentanyl continues to fuel regional variations in the number of people dying from drug overdoses, and Measure 110鈥瞫 effects remain debated.

Josh Wallner-Sentle's death was one of over 100 fatal overdoses in Jackson County last year. Many involved fentanyl, a highly addictive and powerful synthetic opioid that can be mixed into other drugs.

As lawmakers prepare to tackle the state鈥檚 addiction crisis, new data from the Oregon Health Authority shows how dire the addiction crisis has become.

As Oregon faces increasing problems with drug use and overdoses, Jackson County has been hit especially hard.

Three years after Oregon voters elected to decriminalize drugs, a new study has concluded that the first-in-the-nation law has not led to increased drug use or drug overdoses.

In mid-July, Jackson County medical examiners identified ten drug overdose deaths in just five days . They believe nine of those deaths were related to the powerful opioid fentanyl.

When the city鈥檚 medical examiner announced in February that four people who had recently died of overdoses had the animal sedative xylazine in their systems, public health workers across the state sprang into action.

On an average day in California, about 18 people die due to overdoses from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. That works out to nearly four people every five hours.

Northern California鈥檚 Yurok Tribe declared an emergency this month over a surge in fentanyl overdoses. The problem exists among tribes across the region.

Democrats on a Senate committee declined to advance a bipartisan proposal to require written warnings for dealers who knowingly distribute drugs containing fentanyl that results in someone鈥檚 death.

Since it was implemented 14 years ago, Oregon鈥檚 prescription drug monitoring program has lagged behind other states in terms of the type of data captured, who has access to it and how it's being used.