Marion is a smaller Indiana city that sits about halfway between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. It serves as the county seat of Grant County. The city is perhaps best known as the birthplace of actor James Dean, but it also has a long history as a manufacturing and industrial hub in the Midwest. However, Marion still resides within the “Corn Belt.” As a result, its economy is split between manufacturing and agriculture. While many new investments have been made in recent years, a series of plant closures had a devastating effect on job opportunities and the local economy as a whole.
Marion boasts a population of 28,030, but the population has been in a steady decline over the last decade, partly due to the reduction in manufacturing jobs. The 2008 recession and the COVID-19 pandemic both hit Marion extremely hard. As a result, the median household income in Marion is well below the state average at $42,366, and 28.1% of residents live below the poverty line (double the rate for the state of Indiana). [1]
Economic troubles have only added to the growing problem of substance abuse in the city of Marion and the rest of Grant County. Anxiety over the economy and even public health concerns pushed many residents to abuse alcohol, prescription opioids, and illicit drugs like marijuana, crystal meth, and heroin.
Continue reading to learn about substance abuse and addiction in Marion, Indiana. If you or a loved one are fighting addiction in Marion, you can always reach out to Addiction Rehab Centers for help.
Drug and Alcohol Addiction in Marion
When asked by the Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse to create a Comprehensive Community Plan for Grant County, local officials listed alcohol, opioids, meth, heroin, marijuana, and prescription drugs as the most problematic substances in the region. [2] While this could be an indication that the leaders had not yet dug into the specific substances that were most problematic for the community, it could also be a sign that Marion is fighting the substance abuse battle on many different fronts. There has been an ongoing trend of alcohol abuse in Grant Count that matches and perhaps even exceeds the abuse seen throughout Indiana. Approximately 23.8% of adults in Indiana report binge drinking regularly, and many residents of Marion appear to be no exception. [3]
Grant County is among the worst counties in Indiana for the over-prescription and dispensation of opioids. The rate of opioid dispensations has declined slightly in the region over the past few years, but it has remained far above the levels seen in the rest of Indiana. In Q4 of 2022, Grant County recorded an average of 269.1 opioid dispensations per 1,000 residents, compared to just 175.6 in Indiana. The most commonly prescribed opioids in Grant County during this period included hydrocodone (7,637), naloxone (2,737), tramadol (2,577), and oxycodone (2012).
Overdose emergency room visits have remained consistently high, especially when compared to overdoses involving inpatient hospitalizations. Between 2016 and 2021, the number of emergency overdose visits rose from 188 to 349 per year. Inpatient hospitalizations involving drug or alcohol overdose dropped from 94 in 2016 to 57 in 2021. This inverse correlation between emergency room visits and inpatient hospitalizations is often a sign that more people are requiring emergency care due to unexpected drug overdoses, while fewer people are seeking out long-term treatment.
Overdose deaths in Grant County have varied from year to year, though they peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic. The county recorded 18 overdose deaths in 2016, and then 28, 22, and 13 in the subsequent years. The number of overdose deaths spiked in 2020 at 31, and then increased drastically again in 2021 with 53 deaths. The number of overdose deaths in Grant County has remained high, but saw a decline to 40 in 2022. [4]
It’s important to remember that all of these figures do not only pertain to the city of Marion. Marion accounts for roughly 30% of the population of Grant County. However, it is the county seat and produces nearly half of the substance abuse cases in the county. Therefore, it is important to take Grant County’s data with a certain degree of reticence, as they also include other small towns, cities, and villages in the region.
Types of Substance Abuse in Marion
Here is the latest data from Indiana’s Next Level Recovery program showing the arrest data involving different kinds of addictive substances between 2015 and 2023 in Grant County: [5]
Year | Total Arrests | Alcohol | Cocaine | Marijuana | Meth | Opioid | Drug Paraphernalia |
2015 | 796 | 26.0% | 2.6% | 15.8% | 4.5% | 7.6% | 19.5% |
2016 | 685 | 22.2% | 3.6% | 22.2% | 6.3% | 7.9% | 20.2% |
2017 | 849 | 18.3% | 2.8% | 15.0% | 8.7% | 10.6% | 24.0% |
2018 | 858 | 15.8% | 2.8% | 12.6% | 12.7% | 5.8% | 32% |
2019 | 912 | 18.9% | 4.1% | 15.4% | 13.3% | 5.3% | 27.5% |
2020 | 1,130 | 16.4% | 3.6% | 19.1% | 13.4% | 6.4% | 26.2% |
2021 | 847 | 10.6% | 3.1% | 17.7% | 19.0% | 5.3% | 30.3% |
2022 | 641 | 11.7% | 5.5% | 17.1% | 15.9% | 8.6% | 27.9% |
2023* | 613 | 10.4% | 5.6% | 18.4% | 18.6% | 7.8% | 25.5% |
*Statistics for 2023 are still preliminary and do not account for the entire calendar year.
The number of arrests has gone down since 2015 after peaking in 2020, but this isn’t the most important factor to consider. Arrest counts do not directly correlate to the total number of substance abuse cases. Instead, it’s more useful to look at the trends in substance abuse. As you can see from the table above, the percentage of alcohol arrests has dropped substantially while cocaine arrests have doubled. Marijuana arrests have varied from year to year, but like drug paraphernalia arrests, they have remained consistently high and together account for nearly half of all arrests. Meanwhile, opioid arrests are higher than in many other counties, while meth arrests have increased at an alarming pace.
It’s also important to mention that drug paraphernalia arrests can mean many things. This could refer to arrests involving baggies full of unknown substances, needles, or other equipment for illicit drug use. However, high numbers of drug paraphernalia arrests often point to high instances of meth and heroin abuse.
Marion Substance Abuse Resources
Marion County directs its citizens to various therapy and support groups, including Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). However, it doesn’t have many city-level resources for the treatment or prevention of substance abuse. Instead, it depends on Grant County to manage various initiatives and programs. Some of these programs include:
- Overdose Fatality Review Team
- Naloxone first responder training
- Naloxone distribution
The Overdose Fatality Review Team is extremely important for providing a big-picture analysis of substance abuse in Marion and the rest of Grant County. The team reviews individual deaths and coordinates with emergency response providers and law enforcement to see how local efforts can be improved to ultimately reduce the number of overdose deaths. Naloxone distribution and training is a more “hands-on” approach that puts more naloxone in the hands of people who are trained to use it to prevent deaths during an opioid overdose.
Marion Drug Rehab & Alcohol Rehab
Marion is a beautiful and historical city that has played a major part in the manufacturing and agriculture development of Indiana and the Midwest at large. Unfortunately, the worsening economic situation has only made the current substance abuse crisis even worse, leading hundreds of individuals toward drug and alcohol abuse. In many cases, this abuse leads to overdose and death. This is why it is so important for the residents of Marion to have the resources they need to get help.
Fortunately, if you live in Marion and you’re looking for addiction treatment options, Addiction Rehab Centers is just an hour-and-a-half drive from the city. At Addiction Rehab Centers, we offer top-tier care to those with a substance use disorder. Not only can we ensure that you are comfortable and safe during the detox process, but we can also lead you through rehab and post-treatment therapy to ensure that you have the skills to get sober and stay sober for life. By reaching out to our team, you can begin your journey to a brighter tomorrow — free from the grip of addiction.
If you or a loved one need help, don’t hesitate to reach out as soon as possible. Addiction Rehab Centers is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can contact us on our website or call us directly at 844-551-4673.
