Lake, Monroe counties, Bloomington join opioid lawsuit
Officials of two Indiana counties and one city are joining a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies and distributors for their alleged role in fueling the opioid abuse crisis.
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Review: Program to help offenders with mental health, addiction issues working
A two-year-old state program to improve recovery and reduce recidivism of felony offenders who have drug and alcohol addictions or mental health issues has shown positive initial results, according to a review of the program.
Governor gives stores 60 days to pull marijuana-derived oil
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is directing state excise police to resume checking stores for marijuana-derived oils after the state’s attorney general declared them illegal with one limited exception.
Lawmakers, prosecutors square off in medical marijuana debate
Lawmakers such as Rep. Jim Lucas, a Republican, and Sen. Karen Tallian, a Democrat, vocally advocate for their colleagues in the statehouse to support legalizing medicial marijuana. Gov. Eric Holcomb, Attorney General Curtis Hill and the state’s prosecutors oppose such legislation.
Indianapolis judge being considered for drug czar
Marion Superior Judge William Nelson, whose stepson died of a drug overdose, confirmed Monday he is under consideration to be the nation’s drug czar.
2 charged with felony murder in Batesville OD death
A southeastern Indiana prosecutor has charged two people with felony murder in connection with an overdose death in Batesville.
Indiana prosecutors vehemently oppose medical marijuana
Indiana’s county prosecutors remain vehemently opposed to any form of marijuana legalization and insist the plant “is not medicine” amid a push by a conservative state lawmaker to have it recognized as such.
Supreme Court to hear legal malpractice, marijuana cases
The fate of a legal malpractice claim will be decided by the Indiana Supreme Court next week after the justices hear oral arguments to decide whether the claim can continue. Justices also will hear a case challenging the probable cause that led to a man’s conviction after discovery of a marijuana grow.
Supreme Court affirms Land Rover forfeiture in drug case
The state of Indiana can move forward with its plan to seize a Land Rover worth more than $40,000 from a convicted heroin dealer after the Indiana Supreme Court ruled the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause does not bar the state from making such a forfeiture.
Ind. Supreme Court to decide if evidence errors mean drug convictions should be tossed
The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether errors in the admission of certain evidence during a man’s drug trial warrant reversal of the man’s multiple drug convictions.
Supreme Court: Community Corrections can’t revoke good time credit
Directors of community corrections programs do not have authority to revoke inmates’ good time credit as a disciplinary measure because the Indiana Department of Correction has not yet delegated that authority to community corrections programs, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday. The decision reversed rulings in the trial court and Court of Appeals.
Second Indiana county this year ends needle exchange
A southern Indiana county has become the second in the state this year to end its needle exchange amid concerns that the programs provide illegal paraphernalia to intravenous drug users.
Man vows he’s penniless in court; deputies find $4K on him
An Ohio defendant who vowed he was penniless and couldn't pay a fine now faces a big one after deputies escorting him from court found he had over $4,000 in his clothes.
Justices to decide marijuana grow probable cause case
The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether police officers had probable cause to obtain a search warrant for a home they believed to be the location of an indoor marijuana growing operation after granting transfer to the case last week.
Zionsville pharmacist who put himself in feds’ sights admits to felonies
The odyssey that led to Zionsville pharmacist Hongxing “Harry” Zhang’s 2016 fraud indictment, and subsequently his guilty plea to two felony counts on Oct. 4, began in a curious fashion.
Nonprofit group may resume Indiana county’s needle exchange
Health officials in a central Indiana county are looking for an outside group to resume a needle-exchange program after its government funding was cut off this summer.
Holcomb, IU plan $50M opioid recovery effort
Gov. Eric Holcomb is joining Indiana University officials to announce a new $50 million effort to reduce opioid abuse.
Muncie man convicted of woman’s ‘09 fatal stabbing for drugs
A jury has convicted a Muncie man of murder in the slaying nearly eight years ago of a woman stabbed about 70 times while being robbed of prescription pain medicine, prosecutors say.
Indiana jails turn to body scanners to address opioid crisis
The opioid crisis in Indiana is presenting particular difficulties for sheriffs and jail supervisors, with people arrested for drugs sometimes risking their lives to keep their fix.
Indianapolis preparing to sue opioid makers, distributors
The city of Indianapolis is preparing to take legal action against the makers and distributors of opioids, Mayor Joe Hogsett announced Thursday morning at a press conference.