Marion County is a 'hotspot' for youth overdose deaths, study finds

Indianapolis Star

Indiana’s most populous county has been named as one of the cities in the United States with the highest levels of a deadly trend: Youth overdoses.

New research from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) names Marion County as a ‘hotspot’ for fatal overdoses among adolescents aged 14 to 18 years old in 2022. That year, 21 minors died from drug overdoses.

Researchers found that overdose deaths were not due to an increase in youth drug use. Rather, illicit drug use among minors — except cannabis — had dropped significantly among U.S. 12th graders since 2002, from 21% to 8%. The introduction of fentanyl in street drugs has resulted in narcotics becoming deadlier. The synthetic opioid carries a deadly dose small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil. Its mixing with other drugs amounted to 22 adolescents, on average, dying from overdoses each week in the United States in 2022.

Marion County joins 18 other jurisdictions identified by researchers as hotspots, defined as places with at least 20 overdose deaths and rates higher than the national average. A majority of the other cities listed in the report cluster on the West Coast.

Here’s a breakdown of what the research found:

Where were youth overdose deaths highest?

Researchers identified Maricopa County in Arizona and Los Angeles County in California as having the most fatal youth overdoses in 2022, recording 117 and 111 deaths, respectively.

The other counties include:

Orange County, California (61 deaths)
Cook County, Illinois (56 deaths)
San Bernardino County, California (54 deaths)
King County, Washington (52 deaths)
Riverside County, California (41 deaths)
San Diego County, California (36 deaths)
Tarrant County, Texas (35 deaths)
Clark County, Nevada (31 deaths)
Kern County, California (30 deaths)
Pima County, Arizona (29 deaths)
Adams County, Colorado (25 deaths)
Denver County, Colorado (24 deaths)
Jackson County, Missouri (24 deaths)
Santa Clara County, California (24 deaths)
Bernalillo County, New Mexico (23 deaths)
Davidson County, Tennessee (21 deaths)
Marion County, Indiana (21 deaths)

Fentanyl in Marion County

The explosion of fentanyl in drugs has wreaked havoc in Marion County for at least the past three years.

The narcotic has fueled the rising number of drug intoxication deaths in the Indianapolis area, beyond just youth overdoses, making the opioid a leading cause of death for the Marion County Coroner's Office. In 2022, 852 people died from overdoses in Marion County, with opiates − almost exclusively fentanyl − attributing to 81% of those deaths. The total is more than three times the number of homicides committed the same year and also three times the number of car crash fatalities.

Outside of Marion County, two Avon high schoolers overdosed and died last year within a little over a month of each other.

How to talk to teens about fentanyl

Researchers recommended several approaches to combat the trend:

Pediatricians, primary care physicians and mental health practitioners should ask their adolescent patients if they, or their peers, have been approached in person or on social media about buying pills or if they've used them without prescriptions.
Educators and parents can talk about the dangers of counterfeit pills
Clinicians, teachers and parents can emphasize drug abstinence and give information about reducing risks for those who experiment with drugs, such as where to find and use the overdose-reversal medication naloxone.
Making Naloxone available in schools, which should also adopt “no-questions-asked” pill-disposal programs as well as provide anonymous mechanisms such as messaging services that students can use to ask about counterfeit pills and substance use without risk of punishment or embarrassment.

More:FDA approves overdose-reversing drug Narcan for over-the-counter sales

Indiana does not mandate schools carry Narcan, a brand of naloxone, though some districts do.

How to get help for drug addiction in Indianapolis

To find addiction treatment options in Indiana, visit in.gov/fssa/addiction/

Help is also available through the Indiana Mental Health and Addiction Hotline at 800-662-4357.

If you or someone needs assistance immediately, dial 211 to be connected to available providers and 911 during an emergency such as an overdose.

Contact reporter Sarah Nelson at 317-503-7514 or sarah.nelson@indystar.com