State officials announce a new online platform to help Indiana residents find addiction treatment programs.

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.

Rural residents have been disproportionately affected by opioid addiction. The federal government just awarded two rural programs over $1.7 million to reduce overdose risks in rural Indiana.

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 the first installments of the opioid settlement money made their way to state and local governments in Indiana, conversations about what the money will be spent on and who has the ultimate say are top of mind.

If approved by the full Council, the program would be funded through the city’s share of the national opioid settlement with opioid manufacturers and distributors. Indiana is slated to receive $507 million, which will be distributed across the state.

Indiana and other states accused CVS, Walgreens and Walmart of contributing to the crisis by not appropriately managing how they distributed prescription drugs.

All of Indiana's more than 600 political subdivisions have agreed to take part in a $507 million statewide settlement with opioid makers and distributors, Indiana's attorney general's office said.

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.

Indiana is set to receive more than $500 million over the next two decades from a settlement with opioid manufacturers.