Letters to Editor/Guest Columns
Cap Times 05-05-23
Long drug sentences will not bring my daughter back
by Bev Kelley-Miller
Last year, nearly 108,000 people in the United States lost their lives to a fatal drug overdose. As in many other states, overdose deaths have continued to rise in Wisconsin. I have experienced the devastating, tragic impact of the overdose crisis firsthand. More…
Wisconsin State Journal 01-21-22
Stop Criminalizing Addiction
by Dr. Ritu Bhatnagar, president, Wisconsin Society of Addiction Medicine
…As an addiction medicine professional, I frequently hear of patients who experience an overdose, and because of their overdose end up with criminal possession charges. This approach means that many people are now afraid to call 911 for help when someone is experiencing an overdose — out of fear of legal involvement. More..
Wisconsin State Journal 5-3-22
Strengthen state’s good Samaritan law
by Mitchell Stedman
I am a public health and physician assistant student analyzing Wisconsin’s good Samaritan law. Dr. Ritu Bhatnagar’s Jan. 22 letter to editor, “Stop criminalizing opioid addiction,” about the need to strengthen and support Wisconsin’s 911 good Samaritan law, is exactly right — and the data supports it. More…
Wisconsin State Journal 4-20-22
Break stigma of substance abuse
by Annette Czarnecki
…Many of us who have seen the overdose epidemic up close have asked our legislators to expand the 911 good Samaritan law. The current law does not do enough to protect people experiencing an overdose. We need to prioritize saving lives, not punishing people. More…
Interviews
WMTV-TV 11-16-22
What you need to know about the Good Samaritan Law
In 2020, 1,227 people died in Wisconsin related to opioid overdoses. The Good Samaritan law is intended to save lives, but often people are afraid to call 911 when they see someone overdosing, because they fear being arrested.
SpectrumNews1 1-6-23
Wisconsin mother creates memorial quilts in remembrance of her daughter
Addiction is a disease that does not discriminate. That’s something Bev Kelley-Miller found out first hand in 2015 when her daughter Megan Miller died from an overdose.