Sen. Ron Johnson hosts roundtable on opioid overdose epidemic in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE— U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson held a round-table discussion on opioid use in Milwaukee.


Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, Wisconsin Medical Examining Board Vice Chairman Timothy Westlake and Milwaukee County Medical Examiner Brian Peterson joined Johnson for the forum Thursday, September 1st at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Johnson, a Republican from Oshkosh, serves as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The panel released a report ahead of the round-table Thursday that found an average of 129 Americans died every day in 2014 of an overdose.

Johnson is locked in a fierce re-election fight with Democrat Russ Feingold. One of Johnson's main campaign points is stating that America's demand for drugs drives the country's border security problems.