Ortiz-Velez Resolution Supporting Fentanyl Testing Strip Legalization Adopted by County Board
MILWAUKEE – The County Board of Supervisors today unanimously adopted a resolution by Supervisor Sylvia Ortiz-Velez calling on the State of Wisconsin to legalize fentanyl testing strips.
“Everyone should be concerned that between 2015 and 2020 the number of overdose deaths involving fentanyl in the county went from 8% to 73%,” said Supervisor Ortiz-Velez.
Possessing fentanyl testing strips is illegal under current state law for both community members and first responders. Without access to testing strips drug users risk overdose from the otherwise undetectable presence of fentanyl.
“Fentanyl testing strips can be used to detect the presence of fentanyl in a substance and prevent accidental overdoses,” Supervisor Ortiz-Velez said. “Law enforcement officers, emergency medical technicians, and firefighters are often among the first at the scene. They’re the ones who might encounter expected overdoses, and the ability to ascertain if fentanyl was involved will help them do their job.”
Community leaders including TEAM HAVOC and Milwaukee Heroin Diaries founder Rafael Mercado, God Touch Ministries pastor Marty Calderon, and State Senator Lena Taylor showed enthusiastic support for this resolution.
Supervisors Willie Johnson Jr., Eddie Cullen, Ryan Clancy, Steven Shea, Sequanna Taylor, Joseph J. Czarnezki, Priscilla Coggs-Jones, and Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson co-sponsored the resolution and understand the importance of our State Legislature taking up this issue.
The resolution now heads to the desk of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
More about the Opioid Crisis
- Wisconsin Communities Get Millions From Opioid Settlement as Deaths Decline - Evan Casey - Mar 1st, 2025
- MKE County: County Creates Easy Public Access To Overdose Data - Graham Kilmer - Feb 18th, 2025
- Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and the Office of Emergency Management Launch New Overdose Dashboard - County Executive David Crowley - Feb 18th, 2025
- Fitzgerald Advances Legislation to Fight Opioid Epidemic - U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald - Feb 6th, 2025
- Milwaukee Is Losing a Generation of Black Men To Drug Crisis - Edgar Mendez and Devin Blake - Jan 31st, 2025
- Milwaukee County’s Overdose Deaths Declined For Second Straight Year - Evan Casey - Jan 27th, 2025
- MKE County: United Community Center Awarded Drug Company Money For Addiction Treatment - Graham Kilmer - Jan 12th, 2025
- DHS Provides Update on Distribution of Latest Opioid Settlement Funds - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Jan 9th, 2025
- Menominee Tribe Has 70% Decline in Overdose Deaths, Hospitalizations - Joe Schulz - Nov 27th, 2024
- Serenity Inns: A Proven Lifesaving Facility Denied Critical State Funding - Serenity Inns - Nov 19th, 2024
Read more about Opioid Crisis here
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by State Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez
