A bill that would have decriminalized a common harm reduction tool used to test for the presence of fentanyl in other substances is likely dead this session after it did not receive a committee hearing in the Senate.

A common harm reduction tool used to test for the presence of fentanyl in controlled substances is considered paraphernalia under Indiana law but a new bill could change that. The House passed a bill Tuesday that would decriminalize fentanyl test strips.

Fentanyl killed 75,000 people in 2022. Now its making one of the few treatments for opioid addiction harder to use.

A new state report shows that overdoses fell five percent in 2022, for the first time since 2018. State officials tout expanded access to harm reduction and treatment resources as a reason behind the trend.

Narcan is underutilized. Federal and local governments are urging schools to address a growing concern.

State departments of health across the region have taken some action and issued advisories as the synthetic drug-involved overdose death toll has risen in recent years.

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.

As fentanyl deaths surge, lawmakers want more drug busts and arrests. But new research found tough police tactics might increase overdoses and drug deaths in communities.

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

Many who work on the frontlines of the overdose crisis want to see more emphasis on reducing the risk of illness and death from substance use. But in some communities, they face opposition.