Black Hoosiers, the largest minority population in Indiana, make up almost 10% of the state's population, and accounted for 8% of the total resident drug overdose deaths from 2013-2017 compared to whites at 91%. However, a closer look at race-specific mortality rates might reveal racial inequalities. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to analyze drug overdose morality rates among white and black Hoosiers to discover possible racial inequalities and to discover trends in drug involvement in overdose deaths among blacks.

California continues to face a serious public health crisis with the opioid epidemic having substantial health and economic impacts. The epidemic is dynamic and rapidly changing, involving both prescription opioids influenced by prescribing and dispensing patterns as well as illicit opioids influenced by the availability of heroin and recently, the increased availability of fentanyl. The complexity of the issue necessitates data-informed actions through multi-sector, strategic collaboration at both the state and local levels to address the problem comprehensively.

Political discourse surrounding matters of public health is exigent because human life is at stake this is unquestionably the case with respect to widespread opioid addiction. While intravenous drug use itself is described as a health concern, the spread of diseases such as hepatitis C and HIV through the sharing of needles is a disease surveillance emergency. This research centers on municipal-level decision making in the community of greater Lafayette, Indiana.