WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – A Wisconsin-based research organization has completed a new study that details the damaging effect fentanyl is having all across the state.
Forward Analytics says that Wisconsin is in the middle of an epidemic of drug overdose deaths driven largely by illegal fentanyl which is now the number one killer of Wisconsin residents ages 25 to 54.
“Like the nation, Wisconsin is experiencing a true crisis of drug overdoses, particularly fatal ones due to fentanyl,” said Forward Analytics Director Dale Knapp, who authored the study. “This is now the number one killer of Wisconsin residents ages 25 to 54. It’s stunning.”
According to their study, overdose deaths associated with synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl) increased more than 1,000% from 2015 through 2021, claiming more than 4,300 Wisconsin lives.
Fentanyl is an opioid that doctors sometimes use to alleviate severe pain. Illicit variants of the drug, on the other hand, are now being created into liquid, gel, and powder form. The drug is also being disguised as OxyContin, Percocet, or Adderall pills, as well as blended into other illegal substances.
According to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fentanyl deaths in Wisconsin may have peaked, at least temporarily. The CDC says the number of deaths in 2022 will be around 1,300, which is roughly the same as in 2021.
The analysis from Forward Analytics also found that fentanyl-related deaths would have been the second-leading cause of death among people aged 25 to 34 in 2020, surpassing motor vehicle accidents by 2.6 times if they were a ranked cause of death.
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