Tuesday, April 24, 2018

About WI, opioids and '30 bills' - - real thing, or talking point?

Some serious questions about the opioid crisis and Wisconsin's efforts to battle it and save lives:

Is Walker's Monday stand alone tweet - - 
Apr 23MoreWe have been on the front lines fighting the opioid epidemic here in WI. I have signed 30 bills into law addressing it as governor
- - a reason for hope, or a talking point reaction to this March report which said Wisconsin was #1 in opioid ER admissions among 16 states reviewed by federal health officials - - 
ER visits for opioid overdoses soar in Wisconsin
Emergency room visits for suspected opioid overdoses increased 109 percent in Wisconsin from July 2016 to September 2017, the highest spike among 16 states closely tracked, federal health officials said Tuesday...
The data also highlight the need to enhance mental health services, medication-assisted treatment for addiction and distribution of naloxone, the overdose-reversing drug...
*  Does Walker think 30 bills address the treatment necessities summarized in the reporting, and, across this crisis, is Walker's 30 the right number or a useful number or the best analytical tool by which to assess the matter here?

* And why won't Walker tell AG Brad Schimel to join the states which are suing the opioid makers? 

Does Wisconsin have a science-based strategy, or a politically-driven, media-attuned approach?

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