Opioid Prescriptions Drop 32% in Wisconsin over Last 3 Years

A new state report shows doctors have been prescribing fewer opioids over the last three years.

The report from the state Controlled Substances Board shows opioid prescriptions have decreased 32 percent over the last three years, from 1,285,940 prescriptions in the first quarter of 2015 to 872,735 prescriptions in the third quarter of 2018.

The numbers are based on data from the state prescription drug monitoring program.

Gov. Scott Walker, who is locked in a tight race with Democratic challenger Tony Evers, touted the findings in a news release Wednesday. He says the monitoring program is “another example of how Wisconsin is leading the nation in combating the opioid epidemic.”

Nine hundred people died from opioid overdoses in Wisconsin last year.