Overdose deaths are down, giving experts hope for enduring decline
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showed Indiana with an even larger decline in overdose deaths than the nation in the 12-month period that ended June 30.
drug abuse
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Indiana to receive $219M from CVS, Walgreens in opioid settlements
CVS and Walgreens have agreed to pay state and local governments a combined total of more than $10 billion to settle lawsuits over the toll of opioids.
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Marion County agencies share drug data for new report, find 134 suspected overdose deaths in 1Q
The number of deaths in Marion County due to suspected overdoses dropped 28% in the first quarter of 2024, according to a new report that seeks to give health officials a sharper perspective of the use of substances that lead to fatalities.
Supreme Court rejects $6B nationwide opioid settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma
The settlement would have shielded members of the Sackler family from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids while providing billions of dollars to combat the opioid epidemic.
NCAA council votes to remove cannabis from banned drug list
Any penalties currently being served by student-athletes who previously tested positive for cannabinoids will be discontinued.
Fewer U.S., Indiana overdose deaths reported last year, but experts cautious
Prescription painkillers once drove the nation’s overdose epidemic, but they were supplanted years ago by heroin and more recently by illegal fentanyl.
U.S., China officials to meet on curbing fentanyl supply
Chinese companies are still among the largest manufacturers of fentanyl precursors. The chemicals are sold to third-party markets, including Mexico, where they are used to manufacture synthetic drugs smuggled into the United States.
Legislature considers legalizing a different kind of weed
Kratom already is legal in 44 states, but some health experts caution it has addictive properties and its usage, in some cases, can lead to psychotic symptoms and cause opioid patients to relapse.
IU researchers developing virtual-reality tool to treat substance abuse
The high-tech approach allows a patient recovering from substance abuse to interact with potential future versions of himself or herself.
States look for solutions as fentanyl deaths keep rising
Last year, more than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses. About two-thirds of the deaths were linked to fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, which can be 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, heroin or prescription opioids.
Report: Opioid fight needs new strategy, Cabinet leadership
With vastly powerful synthetic drugs like fentanyl driving record overdose deaths, the scourge of opioids awaits after the COVID-19 pandemic finally recedes, a shift that public health experts expect in the months ahead.
Indiana expected to get $507 million from opioid settlement
Local governments currently litigating, such as Indianapolis, were provided the ability to opt out of the state’s opioid plan. Those local governments have the opportunity to opt back in within 60 days of opting out, according to the attorney general’s office.
Four companies on verge of settling U.S. opioid lawsuits for $26B
The national settlement is expected to be the biggest single settlement in the complicated universe of litigation over the opioid epidemic in the United States. It won’t end the cases, but it would change them.
State hopes stories of recovery reach Hoosiers who are addicted
A three-year educational and marketing effort in Indiana called “Know the Facts” aims to build interest through simple, understated messages on billboards, buses, broadcast commercials and social media.
Justice center’s first building—a center for addictions, mental health—nears completion
The city is just six months from a tentative opening for the first piece of the justice campus project, the 37,000-square-foot Assessment and Intervention Center. Construction on other buildings in phase one is well underway, and the city has started planning for phases two and three.
Cathy Ferree: Why the Indiana State Museum is tackling opioid crisis
Working with more than 50 community partners around the state, we’ve compiled trustworthy, relevant information about this crisis, providing an entryway into this topic that many are hesitant to discuss.
Indiana resisting marijuana trend of neighboring states
Indiana lawmakers have not seriously debated proposals such as allowing medical marijuana or removing the threat of jail time for possessing small amounts of the drug, even as recreational marijuana sales have won approval in Michigan and Illinois and medical use is allowed in Ohio.
State drug czar McClelland announces retirement
Douglas Huntsinger, deputy director for drug prevention, treatment and enforcement, will take over. The state said Huntsinger has been overseeing operational aspects of the state’s response to the drug crisis since 2017.
New study: Opioid crisis cost U.S. economy $631B over 4 years
The biggest driver of the cost over the four-year period is unrealized lifetime earnings of those who died from the drugs, followed by health care costs.
North-side nursing home to convert into drug-treatment center
Capitol Village Healthcare, a 52-bed nursing home at 2926 N. Capitol Ave., closed earlier this year, and had received low ratings from U.S. News and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Boom in overdose-reversing drug tied to fewer drug deaths
Prescriptions of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone are soaring, and experts say that could be a reason overdose deaths have stopped rising for the first time in nearly three decades.