Prescription drugs linked to seventy percent of Milwaukee overdoses

In an analysis of prescription drug deaths in the Milwaukee area, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tom Kertscher found of the 1,200 overdose deaths in an eight-year period, some 70% involved prescription drugs. Kertscher created the database himself by reviewing the medical examiner reports for each of the counties in question. Additionally, Kertscher reviewed hundreds of pages of documents tied to a high-profile death of a 15-year-old girl to find that she died despite numerous warning signs to authorities, including 15 calls to police about drug activity and suspected dealing by the man who has pleaded guilty to her death.