Drug-related overdose and poisoning deaths in Los Angeles County declined for the third year in a row, with an overall decrease of 6% between 2024 and 2025, according to new reports released by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
However, the newly revealed data shows that African American residents are represented with 60.5% of the deaths (502) per 100,000 inhabitants, taking into account the total population of this ethnicity in Los Angeles County.
This community was followed by Anglo-Saxon individuals, with 29.3%, or 1,164 deaths, while Hispanics or Latinos reached 905 deaths, that is, 18.2%.
“Hispanics or Latinos are at the top because they represent a large part of the population,” said Dr. Gary Tsai, director of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Control Office (SAPC) at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH). “That’s one reason why they are affected.”
Tsai indicated that health authorities have been expanding Spanish-language language services.
——
Jorge Luis Macías, La Opinion