Indiana Substance Abuse Statistics

Substance abuse in Indiana is nothing short of a crisis. The opioid epidemic that’s hit rural America has struck Indiana particularly badly, and abuse of legal drugs is also running high. Making matters worse, addiction still faces a severe social stigma that can be an obstacle to seeking treatment. To put all of these things into perspective, look no further than the following Indiana substance abuse statistics.

Indiana Substance Abuse Statistics

Indiana substance abuse statistics paint a picture of a state that must do more to deal with the addiction and overdose crisis. However, there’s also cause for optimism with regard to changing attitudes and growing sympathies for those who struggle with addiction.

Drug Overdose

Indiana has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. In the timeframe between 2000 and 2014, overdose deaths quadrupled. From 2010 to 2017, fatalities doubled to the point that almost 2,000 people died from a drug overdose in Indiana. While the medical industry has become less careless in prescribing opioids, this doesn’t seem to be stemming the crisis.

Since 2012, the introduction of illicit street drugs and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl have had a catastrophic effect that’s driven an increase in opioid deaths. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to know exactly how many people suffer from addiction in Indiana. This is because many people avoid treatment, or even live in a part of the state with no available treatment options.

Alcohol and Tobacco Usage

When it comes to excessive drinking, Indiana is in slightly better shape than the rest of the country. Roughly 17% of adults in the state engage in alcohol abuse, and rates of smoking are higher than the national average. Furthermore, 15% of pregnant women in Indiana smoke during pregnancy, which presents serious health risks to newborns.

Changing Attitudes

While there’s still a serious stigma facing drug addicts in Indiana, it’s not all so grim. Despite many in Indiana still thinking of addiction as a choice and not understanding the science on the matter, most Hoosiers feel supportive nonetheless. In one poll, roughly 80% of those asked agreed that no one wants to be an addict. There’s also a surprising amount of support for modern harm reduction methods, with 54% of citizens voicing support for needle exchange programs and 77% agreeing with the idea first responders should carry Naxalone.

Many of those who oppose such policies will still sympathize with addicts, even though they reject modern harm reduction policies. The poll showed that a strong supermajority close to 70% of respondents said they strongly or somewhat sympathized with victims of substance use disorder.

Getting Help with Bridges of Hope

If you or a loved one fall under these statistics, you should know that no one is ever just a statistic. Everyone deserves to have the support they need to live a full life, whether they made a mistake with hard drugs or got hooked on prescription painkillers. Don’t wait for an overdose to make a drug abuse episode someone’s last; turn to Bridges of Hope for help overcoming addiction.

Our compassionate, expert team will make anyone feel welcome from reception to treatment. At that point, we leverage the latest, evidence-based treatment techniques that help patients get clean and stay that way.