Narcan is a nasal-spray version of the life-saving medication naloxone, which can reverse an opioid overdose. It recently became available over-the-counter. Heres what that means for public access.

Fentanyl was involved in the vast majority of all teen overdose deaths – 84% – in 2021, and the problem has been growing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl-related adolescent overdose deaths nearly tripled from 2019 to 2021. And nearly a quarter of those deaths involved counterfeit pills that weren't prescribed by a doctor.

Drug overdose prevention advocates want to combat misinformation and the negative stigma surrounding the use of naloxone, an overdose-reversal drug. Since last June, almost 90 school districts across the state have participated in a program that teaches school staff how to identify drug overdoses and administer naloxone.

A standing order in effect statewide since 2015 allows any adult in Indiana to purchase naloxone without a prescription from registered pharmacies. Both health care professionals and recovery advocates say the FDA’s decision could make Narcan more widely accessible.

HB 1462 would require all emergency departments in the state to provide the Indiana Department of Health a plan that will be implemented when patients have a substance use related emergency.

Data gathered by the DEA shows xylazine-positive overdose deaths in the Midwest rose from 57 in 2020 to 351 in 2021.  

The $5.4 million grant comes from the National Institutes of Health’s Helping to End Addiction Long-term – or HEAL – Data2Action Initiative. Over the course of five years, it allows researchers to work with overdose fatality review teams in 19 Indiana counties to measure harm reduction efforts.

The latest maternal mortality report from the Indiana State Department of Health found that more women are dying during pregnancy and up to a year after delivery in Indiana.

To address opioid overdoses in the community, Johnson County nonprofit Upstream Prevention installed 14 NaloxBoxes in government buildings and a church over the summer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its provisional report on overdose deaths in 2021 across the United States. In Indiana, the number hit a record high for a second year in a row.