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.

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.

People in Kansas risk jail time if they call 911 to report an overdose. And not all law enforcement agencies use the lifesaving drug naloxone.

Public health experts and law enforcement blame the uptick in overdose deaths on fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid that is much more deadly than other derivatives.

The new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests the opioid epidemic is far from over, and public health officials say fentanyl — a synthetic opioid that is much more deadly than other opioids — is largely to blame.

Seventeen of the 19 people have been taken into custody and are charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, officials said. Two people remained at large.

A state law created in 2018 allows for a 20- to 40-year prison sentence if convicted of dealing a controlled substance, such as fentanyl, that results in death.

Sessions touted Project Safe Neighborhoods, an effort to target the highest crime areas in the country, which includes a recent focus in Indianapolis and Evansville.