Overdose Deaths From Fentanyl Laced Drugs Increasing
The number of fentanyl overdose deaths grew 97% from 2019 to 2021.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is warning residents about an increase in the number of overdose deaths caused by drugs laced with fentanyl and other substances.
The agency issued a public health advisory on Wednesday in response to the continued uptick in deaths.
Dr. Jasmine Zapata, chief medical officer of DHS’s Bureau of Community Health Promotion, said each of these statistics represents a life lost.
“It’s easy to get numb at times to the numbers and statistics. But again, these are real families, real lives that are impacted,” she said.
Zapata said part of the urgency around the public health advisory comes from an uptick in deaths high school and middle school students who don’t have a history of drug use, people not traditionally thought of as being at risk of overdose.
“We’ve seen an uptick in people thinking they’re taking a single oxycodone pill or adderall pill, a single pill that includes fentanyl, which causes them to die within hours,” Zapata said. “There are many accidental deaths happening and really some would consider fentanyl poisonings.”
Zapata warned fentanyl is unlike other drugs in its potency, which is part of what makes it so deadly.
She said that means individuals experiencing an overdose due to the substance may also need more than one dose of Narcan, a medication that can reverse an overdose.
Paul Krupski, DHS Director of Opioid Initiatives, said fentanyl is cheap and easily accessible for drug manufacturers and increases their profit margins by hooking drug users on a different kind of high. He said the substance’s lethality has been driving the increase in overdose deaths across the U.S. and it’s more present than ever before in the drug supply.
“It continues to get more and more potent and there are more types of synthetic opioids, more different types of fentanyl analogs than ever before that are leading to these overdoses and deaths,” Krupski said.
He said the state has particularly seen an uptick in deaths involving cocaine laced with fentanyl and in counterfeit pills. DHS estimated that as many as 40 percent of counterfeit pills contain a lethal amount of fentanyl.
Krupski said in March, the state Legislature decriminalized test strips that can detect fentanyl. They can be found at some pharmacies, syringe service providers and opioid treatment programs, he said.
“One thing the department is working on right now is actually developing a broader approach to provide fentanyl test strips statewide to all individuals, similar to how we do Narcan,” he said.
Listen to the WPR report here.
State health officials warn residents about an increase in overdose deaths from fentanyl-laced drugs was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
More about the Opioid Crisis
- Baldwin Announces Over $17.7 Million to Tackle Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis in Wisconsin - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - May 7th, 2024
- Baldwin Backed Legislation to Crack Down on Fentanyl Traffickers Heads to President’s Desk - U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin - Apr 24th, 2024
- Legislature Stalls Opioid Settlement Funds. Again - Erik Gunn - Apr 23rd, 2024
- Milwaukee Bucks Legend Marques Johnson Joins Forces with Serenity Inns to Combat Opioid Epidemic in Milwaukee - Serenity Inns - Apr 23rd, 2024
- Law Enforcement Agencies Awarded Grants from State Opioid Settlement Funds - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Apr 18th, 2024
- MKE County: County Wins Award for Opioid Settlement Fund Usage - Graham Kilmer - Apr 4th, 2024
- MKE County: County Offering $2.8 Million For Opioid Addiction Programs - Graham Kilmer - Mar 28th, 2024
- 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
Read more about Opioid Crisis here