MILWAUKEE — In a highly placed article on Tuesday, The New York Times highlighted how the highly addictive drug fentanyl is causing a crisis in mostly Black and Hispanic communities in Milwaukee.
While locally gun violence and reckless driving tend to grab the headlines, the fentanyl epidemic is steadily claiming thousands of lives. A recent report from the federal government found climbing drug overdose deaths, driven by fentanyl, are hitting people of color the hardest. According to Milwaukee County data, fatal overdoses increased by 6 percent among white people and 55 percent among Black people from 2020-21. In 2021, more than 500 drug-related deaths were connected to fentanyl in Milwaukee County, as the NYT highlights.
The NYT reporter talked to Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, who emphasized the disproportional effect of fentanyl on Black people. People the news outlet talked to described how visible the epidemic is on the streets. A man described as a former drug trafficker who now volunteers as a community organizer, said fentanyl drug deals happen in plain sight. "It's blatantly open to see," he said.
Part of the problem goes back to the COVID-19 pandemic, health officials, social workers and former users told the NYT. During the pandemic, overdose deaths nationally rose 30 percent, according to the CDC.
One man said he first encountered fentanyl accidentally in 2021, when he was smoking what he believed to be cocaine.
"It's just more powerful than anything I've ever used," he said. He added that he has heard fentanyl use is exploding in part because it is inexpensive, easily obtainable and frequently mixed with other drugs. Oftentimes drug dealers mix fentanyl with drugs like coke and marijuana - but don't know exactly how much ends up in a user's dose.
"In my community, this is everywhere," said a Gateway to Change counselor the NYT talked to. "Every day, I wake up, and I hear of four or five overdoses."
While police departments in our area tend to focus on gun violence and reckless driving, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office has been highlighting the raging drug epidemic, particularly with fentanyl. The ME tweeted in September that 80 percent of confirmed drug deaths this year in Milwaukee County involved fentanyl. "The youngest victim was 5, and the oldest was 81," according to the office.
Read some of TMJ4 News' reporting on the fentanyl epidemic here:
- Milwaukee County homeless deaths rise by 147 percent, substance abuse leading cause
- Rising fentanyl overdoses, Wisconsin issues public health advisory
- Milwaukee County health officials to distribute 1,600 fentanyl testing strips to prevent opioid deaths
- Franklin mother who lost her only two children to fentanyl overdoses is trying to raise awareness
