A regional anti-drug unit...the Northcentral Drug Enforcement Group... has picked up federal money through the state of Wisconsin to fight heroin and opioid abuse here.TheDrug Enforcement Group is from seven different counties and 26 agencies.
Oneida County Chief Deputy Dan Hess says the two year grant for $52,000 will help continue the fight against a growing heroin and opioid problem...
"....we've been seeing a lot of heroin cases in our area. We hope this will be effective in curbing this type of behavior...."
Hess says the money will be used to fund overtime pay for investigators. From 2005 to 2014, Wisconsin deaths involving opioid pain relievers rose 64 percent. Wisconsin experienced a 4 percent increase in these deaths from 2013 to 2014. Heroin-related deaths in Wisconsin increased by more than 734 percent over the same period, with an 18 percent increase from 2013 to 2014.
Combined Wisconsin deaths from all opioids more than doubled, from 274 in 2005 to 619 in 2014. From 2010-2014, more than 71 percent of prescription opioid deaths in Wisconsin occurred in individuals 35 years of age and older.
