Evers Signs Bill Legalizing Fentanyl Test Strips
Milwaukee legislators led charge to legalize them as a way to save lives.
Governor Tony Evers signed legislation Wednesday decriminalizing possession of Fentanyl testing strips.
Until now, these strips or testing kits were considered drug paraphernalia. The drug Fentanyl is currently the leading cause of overdose deaths in the county. It was present in 79% of the 560 overdose deaths in 2021.
Mike Lappen, administrator for BHD, noting the irony that this potentially lifesaving tool has until today been illegal, told a committee of the county board Wednesday afternoon, “I’ve been risking myself significantly by having a case of them in my office for a couple of days, waiting to distribute them.”
Shortly after the governor signed the legislation, the county released a statement saying that it had 1,600 testing strips that would be distributed throughout the community. This is a preliminary batch, Lappen told supervisors, “Relatively soon the state will be supplying us with a more significant supply.”
State Representative Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, who is also finishing her last term on the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, was one of the policymakers who led the charge for decriminalization of these testing strips at the local and state level, and authored the legislation for the Assembly, along with State Sen. Lena Taylor who authored the senate bill.
“The testing strips will be a valuable tool to help prevent death from overdose,” said DHHS Director Shakita LaGrant-McClain. “I applaud the work of Supervisor Ortiz-Velez to make these strips available and easily accessible to the community.”
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in a statement also thanked the “champions in the State Assembly and State Senate who fought to legalize fentanyl testing strips.”
“It’s going to take all of us working together to prevent overdoses and make sure that people know there are local resources available to help them,” he said. “I look forward to working with our partners to quickly get these strips into the hands of community members and emergency personnel who need them most.”
Lappen said the county is also working to more widely distribute Narcan, the name brand for the drug Naloxone. It’s an emergency medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.
These types of immediate interventions work in concert with the string of community-based resources, like clinics, residential facilities and mobile crisis teams in the county.
“The longer we keep someone alive, the more opportunities we have to engage them in treatment and recovery,” Lappen said.
More about the Opioid Crisis
- Senator Baldwin Calls on House to Pass Bill that Cracks Down on Fentanyl Traffickers - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Feb 15th, 2024
- Attorney General Josh Kaul announces $350 million settlement with marketing firm over its role in opioid epidemic - Wisconsin Department of Justice - Feb 1st, 2024
- Grants Will Fund Recovery Housing For Those Facing Homelessness and Battling Opioids - Margaret Faust - Jan 12th, 2024
- Baldwin Helps Advance Bipartisan Bill to Address Opioid and Fentanyl Crisis - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Dec 14th, 2023
- DHS and DOJ Announce Dose of Reality Roundtable Discussions on Wisconsin’s Opioid Epidemic - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Dec 6th, 2023
- Limited Supply of Narcan Prevents Milwaukee Groups From Saving Lives - Edgar Mendez - Dec 1st, 2023
- MUPD, Wisconsin Voices for Recovery partner to install Nalox-ZONE boxes on Marquette campus - Marquette University - Oct 12th, 2023
- MKE County: Drug Settlements Could Help Expand Opioid Addiction Programs - Graham Kilmer - Sep 21st, 2023
- DHS Awards Funding to Law Enforcement Agencies Working to Address the Opioid Epidemic - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Sep 21st, 2023
- Milwaukee County Announces Locations of 11 ‘Harm Reduction Vending Machines’ to Combat Death from Overdose - County Executive David Crowley - Aug 8th, 2023
Read more about Opioid Crisis here
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