MARION COUNTY — Drug overdoses have been the leading cause of death for Marion County residents for the past few years.
Now, data from the Marion County Coroner's Office shows a decrease in overdose deaths.
The DEA said Marion County is making major strides in reducing fentanyl-related overdose deaths.
The preliminary report shows a decrease of nearly 50% from 2023 to 2024, which is the lowest it's been since 2019. The number of fentanyl overdoses went from 543 to 296.
For the majority of 2024, OD deaths were by white people, followed by blacks, and Latinos are a distant third.
More than two-thirds of the victims were men.
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Reverend Malachi Walker teaches dozens of youths that drugs do not discriminate.
"We talk about drugs and get them so that young people can be aware of the different types of drugs that are popping up in our community and how do you respond, what do you do," said Walker. "Drugs can be some type of candy, and now they come in what they call gummies, someone that offers you something like that, you don't take it, say "No, thank you.'"
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Indy's Assistant DEA Special Agent in Charge, Michael Gannon, said awareness and collaboration have led to the decrease.
"You have Narcan, which people are able to utilize, and you have people being held accountable for dealing drugs. We had a defendant on an overdose dealing in death case that got sentenced to 51 years," said Gannon. "The other thing is, with the partners that we have throughout the entire state, we're having unprecedented public awareness."
Data from the Marion County Coroner's Office also shows that the total number of overdose deaths was down by nearly 200 last year, compared to 2023.
