Senate Republicans will push this session to make it easier for prosecutors to try to convict people as drug dealers.

As Indiana government and health officials grapple with the state's ongoing drug abuse crisis, they say the problem begins and ends, in many ways, with the issue of stigma. And, it's an issue that can't be solved through a piece of legislative or administrative policy.

The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Association wants to create a new crime: aggravated drug dealing. Offenders would receive harsher sentences under a variety of scenarios.

Indiana law, unlike many states, allows the courts to involuntarily commit people to a treatment facility for substance abuse, not just psychiatric disorders. But that power is rarely used because of a lack of resources.

A study by the National Safety Council shows 80 percent of Indiana employers say they've experienced prescription drug abuse issues at their companies, yet less than a third offer training around workplace drug use.

The Recovery Works program is aimed at improving offenders' recovery rates and reducing recidivism.

Members of the governor's newly created Drug Abuse Task Force heard a common theme at their first meeting Wednesday: local communities and programs around the state need more money.

Federal prosecutors claim David McMichel, 31, led the trafficking operation from his west-side Jackson Street residence, all while serving out the remainder of a prison sentence on home detention stemming from a third felony conviction.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is forming a task force to recommend steps that state officials should take to fight drug abuse.

From 2003 to 2013 - the most recent year for which data is available - the number of heroin overdose deaths in Indiana grew from three to 152.