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Fentanyl Market

Image of a person checking a homeless person on street

Map of LA’s fentanyl hot spots reveals where critical resources are missing

With L.A. County fentanyl deaths spiking 1,652% in six years, the stakes of getting the right services to the right place are higher than ever.

Addiction
Image of two people hugging each other

Love, loss and LA’s deadliest drug: 3 families struck by fentanyl’s wrath

A mother, a child, a best friend. The insidious drug took their lives indiscriminately.

Addiction
Image of people standing around table swearing

Mired in overdose crisis, MacArthur Park struggles to revive Neighborhood Council

MacArthur Park had 83 fatal overdoses in 2022, more than any ZIP code in Los Angeles County.

Addiction
Image of a person's hand with white substance on it

Fentanyl became LA’s deadliest drug in 2022 and hit Black community hardest

With over 1,900 deaths recorded in 2022, fentanyl overtakes meth as top cause of overdoses in L.A. County.

Addiction
Image of people in alley of MacArthur Park

Part 1: Fentanyl addiction fuels underground shoplifting economy in LA’s MacArthur Park

A marketplace for shoplifted goods, a concentration of dealers and open air drug use has pushed MacArthur Park to an epicenter of an epidemic.

Addiction
An image of a homeless person looking in the camera

Part 2: My fight with fentanyl: Stories from 3 people battling addiction

For people experiencing homelessness, fentanyl is both a tool of survival and a cause of destruction making quitting feel impossible, yet imperative.

Addiction
Image of homeless people on street.

Part 3: In LA’s fentanyl epidemic, MacArthur Park community bears the heavy burden

Mom and pop shops suffer from spike in shoplifting. Residents feel unsafe near the park, where overdoses and deaths are common.

Addiction
Image of a journalist in MacArthur Park in Los Angeles standing between two people struggling with homelessness and addition

Part 4: How can LA combat its fentanyl crisis? MacArthur Park offers clues

In the center of a crisis, seeds of hope emerge. Grassroots efforts connect people to live-saving resources, but much more is needed.

Addiction

How to help address homelessness and addiction in MacArthur Park

How to help address the fentanyl and homelessness crisis in LA's MacArthur Park.

Addiction

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