INDIANAPOLIS — A new report from the Marion County coroner shows drug intoxication was the number one cause of death in 2022.
For the third straight year, drugs are killing far more people in Marion County than car crashes, heart attacks or homicides.
Data shows 852 lives were lost from overdose in 2022, either accidental or intentional — that's 3% more than in 2021. It translates to a heartbreaking 2.3 deaths per day from drugs in Marion County.
The numbers are not surprising, but devastating to the DEA, which is constantly trying to prevent drug danger through awareness and tracking down and arresting dealers.
"Oh, it's devastating because I always say, 'One life lost is one too many,'" said Michael Gannon, assistant special agent in charge of the Indianapolis DEA.
Gannon said it's especially concerning right now because more people are dying from a poison that's 50 times more potent than heroin.
Fentanyl is flooding into our community.
"These people aren't taking a drug to overdose and die," Gannon said. "They're being poisoned, and they don't realize that the pill they're getting is laced with a lethal dosage unit of fentanyl."
Data from the Marion County Coroner's Office shows the staggering increase in fentanyl-related deaths. It's a sharp rise over the past seven years, including a 49% spike from 2021 to 2022.
Fentanyl is killing hundreds, and it usually comes in fake pills.
"You never take a prescription pill, look-a-like or something you're getting from a drug dealer on the street or social media because you just don't know what you're getting," Gannon said. "DEA and our partners, in 2022, we seized over 58 million fake pills, and six of every 10 had a potential fatal dosage unit."
Marion County data shows most drug deaths last year were people in their 30s and 40s.
Most were men.
Most were white.
Although the report also shows a significant increase in minority deaths.
As for solutions?
The Marion County Coroner's Office said it's using money from the opioid settlement to help families, hire social workers, and give vouchers for mental health and substance use disorder services, all in hopes of saving lives and changing this deadly, troubling trend.