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.

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 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.