PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
(WTAQ-WLUK) — County jails and state prisons in Wisconsin are seeing better access to medications for inmates experiencing opioid addictions, which has been a contributing factor in the drop of opioid overdose deaths in the state.
According to findings from the Wisconsin Policy Forum, deaths peaked at more than 1,500 in a 12-month period around 2022. But by September 2025, that number had fallen by more than 900.
“There’s obviously the increase in overdose deaths that we saw over the last decade. That was, I think, a powerful incentive to both elected and appointed officials to act,” Wisconsin Policy Forum President Jason Stein said.
WPF last did a survey on this topic in 2021. Since then, inmates’ access to opioid medications like buprenorphine, naltrexone and methadone have increased substantially. Currently, at least 50 of the 71 county jails and all the Department of Corrections facilities in Wisconsin provide access to some opioid medications.
“As more counties and more institutions do it, there’s more knowledge, and I think there’s also more ability to learn from peers,” Stein said.
According to WPF, Winnebago County provides two types of medications and Brown County can provide all three types of medications. Outagamie County did not respond to the survey.
Stein said the bigger issue is inmates beginning new prescriptions to help with their recovery while they are serving time. Getting proper funding to increase access is also key in reducing the number of deaths all the way down to zero.
“We need diversified funding,” said Vital Strategies Senior Technical Advisor Adrienne Hurst said. “And the possibility of Medicaid coverage for some people for part of the time, that won’t provide treatment for the entirety of people’s detention.”
While access continues to increase, it’s unclear if and when opioid medications will be fully available to all of Wisconsin’s jails and prisons.
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