In 2022 over 1500 Wisconsinites died of opioid-related overdoses, with over 80% of those deaths being fentanyl based. Sadly, many of these deaths occurred among young, non-opioid drug users, who mistakenly took fentanyl-laced drugs such as cocaine, meth, ecstasy, and marijuana, or counterfeit Benzodiazepines such as Xanax, Valium, Adderall, or various types of painkillers. Two out of every five such pills purchased illegally contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. Unfortunately, our Wisconsin youth population overdoses have increased by 42% year-over-year.

Thus the availability of the opioid antagonist Narcan in our middle and high schools is essential to save the lives of our children. This year we sponsored a bill (SB206/AB223) with Wisconsin Senator Jesse James that would have required the placement of lifesaving Narcan in all of our public and private schools. Sadly, that bill failed to make it out of the Republican caucus, and thus did not receive an up- and-down vote in the Wisconsin Assembly or Senate. The opposition to this bill was based upon two things: the denial that we have a serious drug problem in our schools; and secondly the belief that “mandates” of any kind are undesirable. This thinking is flawed on both counts, and we clearly need Narcan available in our schools in Wisconsin.

We are currently working with a number of Wisconsin school districts to place our Narcan aid kits on their school premises. We will continue to seek legislative support as well and are pursuing the possibility of legislation similar to that of Iowa, under which funding is provided by the state to schools who wish to stock Narcan, but without “mandating” such stocking by law. Please continue to check this website for updates on our efforts.

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