Drug deaths statewide were down in 2018, but Milwaukee and Milwaukee County are on pace for a near-record high number this year. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office tweets that if the pace of overdose deaths continues, 423 people in Milwaukee will die from drugs this year.
If current trends continue, Milwaukee County year-end totals on pace to reach 423 overdose deaths. https://t.co/W5KjPzgU0P
— Medical Examiner (@mkemedexamine) August 14, 2019
That would be the highest number in almost a decade. District Attorney John Chisolm calls the spike in drug deaths an “imminent public health crisis.” The Journal Sentinel reports that the Medical Examiner’s Office has responded to 14 probable overdose deaths since Friday morning, including three people dying in less than one hour Sunday.
