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

By Tom Kertscher
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.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
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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