heroin

The link between heroin and sex work is not new, but it's gotten worse over the past decade.

The drug is being increasingly laced with substances that can cause physical reactions or overdoses through incidental contact.

The state's funding from the Health and Human Services is among $485 million the agency recently awarded to all 50 states and several U.S. territories.

Some officers are now carrying up to three doses of naloxone.

Critics argue the legislature is "backsliding" to previous, failed attempts to address the drug epidemic.

The study also shows that Indiana's reports don't reflect the actual number of overdose deaths in which opioid drugs are present.

The CDC reports that the national drug-related death rate has increased more than two and a half times since 1999.

Last year alone, Narcan saved more than 2,000 opioid users in Indianapolis from overdoses.

Heroin isn't new in Cincinnati, but the recent surge in overdoses is being blamed on an even more potent drug called carfentanil. It's 100 times stronger than fentanyl, a more common synthetic opioid that is itself much stronger than heroin. Carfentanil is used to sedate elephants. It can be dangerous to even touch it without gloves.

Community members will be able to go to the local health department to get training on how to administer naloxone and receive a free dose.