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FACT BRIEF

Did opioid-related fatal overdoses in Wisconsin reach record highs before Joe Biden became president and have they continued to increase?

By Tom Kertscher
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YES

Opioid-related fatal overdoses in Wisconsin set records under Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

The latest annual statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services show highs in 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021:

2014: 628 (Obama was president)

2015: 613

2016: 850

2017: 932 (Trump became president)

2018: 839

2019: 916

2020: 1,231

2021: 1,427 (Biden became president)

2022: 1,421

The vast majority of Wisconsin opioid-related deaths are from synthetic opioids, rather than from heroin.

Synthetic opioid deaths set records under Trump and Biden:

2019: 651

2020: 1,056

2021: 1,293

2022: 1,337

Most synthetic opioid deaths are from fentanyl, which is federally approved for pain relief but widely abused. The state does not track fentanyl deaths specifically.

Mexico and China are the main sources for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the U.S., according to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Wisconsin Department Of Health Services Dose of Reality: Opioid Data Summary Dashboard
Google Docs Wisconsin DHS email 1/26/24
Wisconsin Department Of Health Services Public Health Advisory: Fentanyl Increasingly Present in Overdose Deaths in Wisconsin
Drug Enforcement Administration Fentanyl
AP News US announces sweeping action against Chinese fentanyl supply chain producers
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Wisconsin Watch
Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.