The Sconi

The country – Wisconsin included – is seeing a frightening increase in drug overdose fatalities.

Overdose deaths in the United States increased by 28.5% during a 12-month period ending in April 2021, according to data provided by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. Provisional data showed there were an estimated 100,306 drug overdose deaths during that span compared to 78,056 during the previous 12 months.

Wisconsin followed the national trend. There was an estimated 21.8% increase in drug overdose deaths in the state from April 2020 to April 2021. Furthermore, data published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed that in 2018, nearly 70% of all overdoses nationally were from opioids. In Wisconsin, the rate was 78%.

Gov. Tony Evers announced Wisconsin will join the Bloomberg Opioids Overdose Prevention Initiative. The announcement is part of an expansion of the Initiative to Wisconsin and four other states, including Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico and North Carolina. The expansion includes a $120 million investment by Bloomberg Philanthropies with a $10 million investment going directly to Wisconsin’s efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.

“The coronavirus pandemic has only underscored the crisis we are facing in our state and country with the opioid epidemic, as opioid-related deaths last year exceeded 1,000 in a single year in Wisconsin for the first time,” Evers said in the release. “It’s more critical than ever that we get folks support and access substance use treatment and mental health services. Wisconsin is thrilled to be joining this partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies as we work tirelessly together to save lives, expand treatment and services and build a healthier state.”

According to a release, "the Initiative is a partnership with the CDC Foundation, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, Johns Hopkins University, The Pew Charitable Trusts and Vital Strategies, and will draw upon [lessons] from Michigan and Pennsylvania to communicate best practices and create models that can be replicated across the country with a focus on medication access, equity and local community engagement. The partnership will help implement new programs and advocate for federal policies to expand treatment access and harm reduction with a goal of accelerating progress in reducing overdose deaths. The state work will include funding for technical assistance, direct services and embedded staff at government agencies and other organizations to support state and locally-led interventions."

The opioid crisis has been on court dockets for some time now. In the first trial in which pharmacy companies had to defend themselves, a jury in Ohio held CVS, Walgreens and Walmart responsible for the opioid crisis in the state. That decision could serve as a precedent that would hold pharmacies accountable for the crisis throughout the United States.

The companies intend to appeal the ruling. Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said in a statement that “As we have said throughout this process, we never manufactured or marketed opioids nor did we distribute them to the ‘pill mills’ and internet pharmacies that fueled this crisis. The plaintiffs’ attempt to resolve the opioid crisis with an unprecedented expansion of public nuisance law is misguided and unsustainable.”