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Art Dahlen isn’t one to mince words. And as the founder of Kent-based Battlefield Addiction, he鈥檚 grown tired of watching well-meaning policies inadvertently fuel a crisis he said is devastating families and claiming lives at record levels.

鈥淚t’s criminally negligent,鈥� Dahlen told 成人X站 Newsradio bluntly, standing outside one of his sober-living recovery homes in Kent. 鈥淲e鈥檙e losing people at an alarming rate. Fentanyl is killing people every day in ways we’ve never seen.鈥�

It鈥檚 a strong claim, but in Washington state, the statistics back him up. According to preliminary Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, to see opioid-related overdose deaths increase between May 2023 and April 2024.

Meanwhile, nationwide, those numbers are finally going down.

What’s going wrong here?

In King County, the prevailing wisdom is . The idea: if you provide safer conditions, such as needle exchanges, fentanyl testing strips, safe consumption supplies, and wait patiently, many struggling with addiction will eventually opt into treatment voluntarily.

said this approach is compassionate, realistic, and non-judgmental. It reduces immediate harm, like infections or overdoses. But Dahlen sees something else entirely.

the Public Health 鈥� Seattle and King County, more than 1,000 people died of drug overdoses in 2024. It鈥檚 the second-highest death total in recorded history, only surpassed by overdose deaths in 2023. Back in 2015, only 324 people died in the county from overdoses.

鈥淟etting people smoke fentanyl is the worst thing a state or city can do,鈥� Dahlen said, frustration visible on his face. 鈥淭hey call it kindness, but it鈥檚 the opposite. It鈥檚 killing people, and it鈥檚 devastating families.鈥�

He would know. Dahlen spent 17 years trapped in opioid addiction himself before becoming sober. For the past 14 years, he鈥檚 dedicated his life to helping others achieve sobriety through what he calls a 鈥渇amily-first, community-first鈥� approach.

Battlefield Addiction takes a different approach to curb drug use

Battlefield Addiction is deliberately different. Dahlen and his team coach families on intervention strategies designed to disrupt drug use immediately. This isn’t about gentle encouragement; it鈥檚 about urgency and accountability.

鈥淚f someone is smoking fentanyl in one of our homes, we get it out of their hands and watch them with Narcan until they’re OK,鈥� Dahlen explained. 鈥淥ur approach starts with sobriety. Not tomorrow, not next year鈥攖oday.鈥�

It鈥檚 a stark contrast to policies championed in Seattle and King County, where supportive housing facilities , focusing on housing stability first, with recovery second.

But Dahlen argued the drugs today, especially fentanyl and meth, are fundamentally different than the opioids of the past.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not dealing with the heroin of five or ten years ago,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he is killing people overnight. This is an emergency.鈥�

Washington state鈥檚 rising overdose rates seem to back up Dahlen鈥檚 urgency. Despite record spending on harm reduction and supportive housing, the numbers are moving in the wrong direction.

Washington opioid deaths nearly doubled since 2019

As reported by the in the last six years, opioid drug overdose deaths in the state have nearly doubled.

“17,502 Washington residents died from a drug overdose over the past 15 years (between 2007 and 2021); 68% of those deaths involved an opioid,” DOH’s website stated. “Since 2019, the annual number of opioid drug overdose deaths has nearly doubled, from 827 deaths in 2019 to 1619 in 2021.”

So what does Dahlen recommend?

鈥淚鈥檇 ask our politicians and lawmakers: are there behaviors we鈥檙e doing right now that perpetuate addiction?鈥� he asked. 鈥淎re we handing out pipes, foils, making it easier for people to steal and continue their addiction? Yes. And it’s making things worse.鈥�

Critics often dismiss abstinence-focused programs like Battlefield Addiction . Dahlen shakes his head at the notion.

鈥淭his isn’t about morality. It鈥檚 about saving lives,鈥� he said. 鈥淚’ve never had anyone come back angry that we helped get them sober. People thank the cops who arrested them. People thank their families who intervened. For me, it was my father who held me accountable. He saved my life.鈥�

Dahlen knows he’s swimming upstream politically. King County leaders and addiction experts overwhelmingly favor harm reduction, citing decades of research showing its benefits. But Dahlen insists there鈥檚 a crucial difference between harm reduction that saves lives and enabling that prolongs suffering.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 allow someone to continue smoking fentanyl and call that kindness,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s not harmful to ask someone to stop. It鈥檚 necessary.鈥�

Battlefield Addiction to host fundraiser

That鈥檚 why Battlefield Addiction is raising its voice, and some much-needed funds, at Roegner Park in Auburn on May 10. It鈥檚 part outreach, part advocacy, aiming to shift public perception and remind people that abstinence-based recovery programs still exist, and they still work.

鈥淲e want families to understand that real recovery is possible,鈥� Dahlen said passionately. 鈥淓ven if you’ve been using fentanyl, even if things feel hopeless, you can get sober and have a productive life afterward.鈥�

In King County, where compassion has become synonymous with harm reduction, Dahlen鈥檚 message is provocative. He argues compassion must include accountability and swift intervention, not simply a comfortable place to continue using.

鈥淒on鈥檛 listen to the addiction,鈥� he told families directly. 鈥淒on’t let the drugs tell you how to treat your loved one. You have to intervene, create boundaries, create urgency. It鈥檚 the only way to save their lives.鈥�

Art Dahlen is used to being labeled a contrarian or harsh. But he brushes off those labels. After nearly three decades grappling with addiction personally and professionally, he says the truth is simpler.

鈥淔entanyl kills,鈥� he said firmly. 鈥淧retending that gently waiting (for someone to seek treatment) is a humane approach isn’t kindness. It’s neglect.鈥�

Listen to聽鈥淪eattle鈥檚 Morning News鈥�聽with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast聽here.