Drug & Alcohol Rehab For Bedford, Indiana

Bedford, Indiana is a relatively secluded city in southern Indiana, with the nearest Interstate Highway located approximately 20 miles away, though State Highway 50 does run directly through the city center. In spite of its remote location, Bedford has served as an important economic and historical city in the state’s history.

Known as the “Limestone Capital of the World,” the area surrounding Bedford is rich with limestone quarries, which have helped supply materials to build some of the most prominent structures in the country — including monuments in Washington D.C. and the Empire State Building in New York City. The local government even used some of the materials to build replicas of famous world wonders, such as an 800-foot replica of the Great Wall of China and a replica of the Great Pyramid of Giza (though the latter was never finished).

These points of interest would make Bedford a popular tourist city if it were closer to the main Interstates. It’s situated approximately an hour and a half south of Indianapolis, and rather than tourism, Bedford’s economy primarily relies on raw materials and transportation (primarily freight trucking companies), though there are a variety of businesses that provide everyday services to the city’s 13,855 people.

The cost of living in Bedford is relatively low, but the economy has struggled in recent years. As of the latest census, the median household income is $49,492, which is roughly 25% below the state median. Additionally, Bedford has a poverty rate of 15.7%, compared to a statewide poverty rate of 12.3%. [1] Economic instability and rising poverty rates have only exacerbated the ongoing substance abuse crisis in Bedford.

Based on the most recent data, meth and marijuana are the most commonly abused substances in Bedford, Indiana. The city also sees the abuse of other substances, such as alcohol, prescription opioids, cocaine, and heroin.

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

Drug and Alcohol Addiction in Bedford

Bedford is within the boundaries of the Shawswick Township and serves as the seat of Lawrence County. Like most cities in Indiana, Bedford relies on the county to collect and aggregate substance abuse data. This makes it easier for state authorities to evaluate changes in substance abuse in different regions. Unfortunately, this also means that Bedford’s substance abuse cases are combined with cases originating in nearby towns, cities, and municipalities, including Mitchell and Avoca. However, Bedford accounts for over 30% of Lawrence County’s 40,084 residents, and it’s estimated that roughly half of all substance abuse cases recorded in the county originate in Bedford. Consequently, analyzing county-level data provides a fairly accurate picture of the ongoing substance abuse crisis in the city of Bedford.

Just a few years ago, fatal overdoses were a rare occurrence in Lawrence County. However, they have since increased greatly, particularly during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. [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 and 2024 is provisional and may be subject to change. The last date that data was collected was 09/04/2024.

The figures for 2023 and 2024 are still not finalized, but between 2016 and 2022, fatal overdoses rose by 650%. The worst year for fatal overdoses in Lawrence County was 2021. Since then, deaths have tapered off slightly. But once again, the data for 2023 and 2024 is provisional. There will likely be more deaths added to the data in the coming year (particularly the data for 2024), so it’s unclear if this downward trend will continue.

Even though the fatal overdose data shows a clear upward trajectory, indicating that the substance abuse crisis is worsening, it doesn’t tell us everything we need to know. Most people who experience an overdose survive, which is why it’s just as important to look at non-fatal overdose data. This data is collected via hospital discharges and emergency department visits involving addictive substances. The table below shows the relevant overdose data in Lawrence County between 2016 and 2024: [3]

*Data for 2023 and 2024 is provisional and may be subject to change. The last date that data was collected was 09/04/2024.

The trajectory of non-fatal overdoses aligns pretty closely with the trends observed in fatal overdoses in Lawrence County. Non-fatal overdoses declined very slightly between 2016 and 2019, before seeing a sudden spike in 2021 and 2022. Since then, non-fatal overdoses appear to be in decline, but we must wait for the final data for 2023 and 2024 to be sure.

Additionally, it’s important to examine the relationship between fatal overdoses, non-fatal overdoses, and total overdoses (fatal and non-fatal). In 2016, there were a total of 130 overdoses in Lawrence County. Just 2 of those overdoses were fatal (1.5%). By 2022, the total number of overdoses increased to 176. Of those overdoses, 15 were fatal (8.5%). This data is extremely important because it reflects what is already known about individual overdoses. As the total number of overdoses increases, fatal overdoses tend to increase at a faster pace. However, this substantial increase in fatal overdoses could also be attributed to other factors, such as insufficient rehabilitation programs or a sudden influx of illicit street drugs.

Types of Substance Abuse in Bedford

In 2023 and 2024, meth and marijuana were the most abused drugs in Lawrence County. This is somewhat unusual for Indiana, where most counties see alcohol as the most abused substance by far. However, this data is based on arrest and re-arrest records, which do not account for those who abuse one or more drugs and evade arrest. Therefore, it’s not a precise indication of exactly how prevalent each type of substance is in Bedford and the rest of Lawrence County. Instead, it merely shows how drug abuse trends have shifted in recent years. 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 Lawrence County:

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

Between 2016 and 2019, total arrests involving addictive substances more than doubled. Once arrests peaked at 816 in 2019, they began to decline. Based on the provisional data for 2023 and 2024, it appears that this downward trend may continue. More importantly, the types of substances involved in these arrests have changed dramatically over the years. In 2016, alcohol was the most abused drug in Lawrence County, by 2022, it was far outpaced by meth.

Looking at the data as a whole, it’s clear that meth and marijuana are the two most abused drugs in the area. Cocaine is relatively uncommon, though cocaine arrests did increase dramatically starting in 2019. Prescription opioid arrests also saw an upward trend between 2016 and 2022, though these arrests appear to be in decline. Drug paraphernalia arrests, which are most often associated with meth or heroin abuse, have remained consistently high over the years in Lawrence County, though they have also tapered off since 2021.