Drug & Alcohol Rehab For Martinsville, Indiana

Located about 30 miles southwest of downtown Indianapolis along Interstate 69, Martinsville is a small, historical city in central Indiana. Known for its healing mineral water spas and sanitariums, Martinsville has drawn visitors from all over the state for more than a century. Today, the city is home to dozens of cultural festivals, as well as dozens of local businesses, particularly restaurants and fisheries.

Martinsville serves as the county seat of Morgan County and falls within the boundaries of Washington Township. Despite a relatively low cost of living and a self-sufficient local economy, the population has stagnated over the past few years. According to the most recent census data, Martinsville has roughly 11,946 full-time residents. It is the only incorporated city in the county and accounts for about 16.9% of Morgan County’s population. [1]

In spite of its small size and tranquil surroundings, Martinsville has struggled with substance abuse and addiction for years. Dozens of overdose deaths have been recorded in Martinsville and Morgan County over the last few years alone. Based on the most recent data, heroin and meth are among the most commonly abused drugs in Martinsville, though alcohol, marijuana, prescription opioids, and cocaine are not far behind.

Continue reading to learn about substance abuse and addiction in Martinsville, Indiana. And remember, if you or a loved one are fighting addiction in Martinsville or the surrounding area, you can always reach out to Addiction Rehab Centers for help.

Drug and Alcohol Addiction in Martinsville

Like nearly all cities in the state of Indiana, Martinsville leaves the collection and analysis of substance abuse data to county-level administrators. As a result, figures related to overdoses (both fatal and non-fatal), as well as arrests related to addiction, are aggregated by the county. This allows for more comprehensive data at the county level, but it also means that Martinsville’s cases are combined with cases originating in other nearby municipalities, such as Mooresville. Nonetheless, evaluating Morgan County’s data can shed light on the substance abuse crisis in Martinsville. Additionally, as the county seat and only incorporated city in the county, Martinsville contributes the highest number of substance abuse cases to the county figures.

Overdose deaths, for example, are alarmingly high in Morgan County. This is partially attributable to the county’s proximity to Indianapolis, as illicit street drugs are more accessible than they are in rural areas further from the state capital. [2] The table below shows how deaths involving all drugs (including alcohol) have changed in the area over the past few years:

*Data for 2023 is provisional and only accounts for the first half of the year.

Between 2016 and 2022, annual overdose deaths increased by 60% in Morgan County. Deaths peaked in 2022, and based on provisional data for 2023, overdose deaths may be in decline. However, until the numbers are finalized, it’s unclear if fatalities will continue this downward trend. Despite the potential decline in recent years, Morgan County experiences a relatively high rate of overdose deaths when compared to its total population.

In addition to overdose deaths, it’s important to consider non-fatal overdoses. In most instances, non-fatal overdoses far outnumber fatal overdoses, making them a better indicator of persistent substance abuse in a given city or county. Like overdose deaths, non-fatal overdoses are high in Martinsville and the rest of Morgan County. The table below shows the relevant overdose data in Morgan County between 2016 and 2023: [3]

*Data for 2023 is provisional and only accounts for the first half of the year.

While non-fatal overdoses have generally been high every year since 2016 in Morgan County, they have declined steadily most years — with the exception of the spike recorded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2023’s provisional data is likely to change in the near future, but the finalized numbers indicate that non-fatal overdoses declined by 15% between 2016 and 2022.

On the surface, this seems to show that the addiction crisis is subsiding, albeit slowly. However, when compared to the data available for overdose deaths, it reveals a much more grave trend. Fatal overdoses increased substantially between 2016 and 2022, while non-fatal overdoses decreased modestly over the same period. This means that fewer people are overdosing, but of those who do experience an overdose, a much higher percentage of people are dying as a direct result of their addiction. In 2016, 6.5% of overdoses resulted in death. By 2022, that figure nearly doubled to 12.3%. This could be a sign that local agencies are struggling to respond to substance abuse effectively in Martinsville and Morgan County.

Types of Substance Abuse in Martinsville

In 2023, heroin and meth were the most abused drugs in Morgan County. This is somewhat unusual for Indiana, as alcohol is typically the most abused drug, followed by more common drugs like marijuana. However, it’s difficult to say with certainty, as many heroin and meth arrests involve multiple substances. In any case, here is the latest data from Indiana’s Next Level Recovery program showing the arrests involving different kinds of addictive substances between 2016 and 2024 in Morgan County:

*Statistics for 2023 and 2024 are still preliminary and do not account for the entire calendar year(s).

Like many other counties, Morgan County saw a decline in arrests involving addictive substances starting in 2020. However, this doesn’t mean that fewer people have been abusing these substances; it could mean that, during the pandemic (and potentially in the time since), people worked harder to hide their addictions and evade arrest. In any case, it’s equally important to examine how substance abuse has evolved in recent years.

While 2023’s data is provisional and 2024’s data is still incomplete, there was a drastic decline in alcohol arrests between 2016 and 2022. In fact, alcohol arrests were cut in half over this period. Arrests involving drug paraphernalia (most often linked to heroin) also declined in recent years, but they still remain extremely high compared to other types of arrests.

For example, cocaine and prescription opioid arrests have been relatively low in Morgan County. Alternatively, meth arrests have been high and increased most years. It’s important to remember that while arrest and re-arrest records are not a direct indicator of which substances are being abused in Morgan County, they can provide a general account of addiction and how it varies based on substance type in the region.