PHILADELPHIA — More than half of Philadelphians think that addressing the opioid crisis should be a top priority for the next mayor — and that city leaders should focus on offering mental health and addiction treatment instead of arresting drug users, according to a Lenfest Institute for Journalism/SSRS poll that surveyed more than 1,200 people.
Black and Latino poll respondents were more likely to say that addressing the city's opioid epidemic should be a top priority than their white counterparts.
In Philadelphia, fatal overdose rates among Black and Latino residents have risen for years, while overdose rates among white residents have fallen. Last year, as overdose deaths rose particularly sharply among Black Philadelphians, the city scrambled to get education and resources into neighborhoods with higher Black populations, like North Philadelphia's 19140 zip code, where overdose deaths increased 66% in three years.
