Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced that 277 local law enforcement officials participated in Drug Take Back Day on Oct. 26 — a day dedicated to supporting Wisconsinites dispose of excess opioid medications at various locations.
Kaul believes this event is an opportunity for people to responsibly discard of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, many of which contribute to the state’s current opioid epidemic. Additionally, it helps prevent accidental or excessive use of opioids that can lead to addiction.
“One of the main ways that people become addicted to opioids is the diversion of unwanted and unused medications. People across the state can help make their communities safer by preventing diversion and making sure those unused medications are disposed of properly,” Kaul said in a statement.
A new report from the Center for Disease Control geographically broke down deaths from drug overdose based on 2017 data of more than 700,000 deaths.
The report expresses stark differences between 10 regions in the United States. In New England, fentanyl — a synthetic opioid prescribed as a pain reliever — was the drug responsible for the most overdose deaths, whereas in the mountain states and the Dakotas, methamphetamine was the most deadly drug.
Nationally, methamphetamine was the fourth-largest culprit in drug overdose deaths. However, in 19 states west of Mississippi, methamphetamine was the largest — responsible for 21 to 38 percent of overdose deaths.
The CDC reported that methamphetamine rose in the amount of fatal drug overdoses, increasing from the fourth to eighth most-fatal drug nationally.
However, in Wisconsin, fentanyl was responsible for the most drug overdose deaths.
In 2017, 926 Wisconsinites died from opioids — 362 of which from prescription opioids, a 30 percent increase from 2012.
Drug Take Back Day was held in an attempt to combat this issue, and according to Sarah Dillivan-Pospisil of the Eau Claire County Health Department, Wisconsin is one of the biggest states for this program.
"At our last take back event, we collected over 3,300 pounds of prescription medication. Wisconsin is one of the top three states in the United States for collecting medications during those take back events,” Dillivan-Pospisil said. “We're right behind Texas and California."
