Local governments hand out fentanyl test strips, but they could be illegal in Indiana [Video]

INDIANAPOLIS — This past fall, a single pill caught the attention of school leaders at Hope Academy. 

“We found it right over there by the fire extinguisher,” said Rachelle Gardner. 

Gardner is Hope Academy’s executive director. She told 13 Investigates the pill looked like a Percocet.  Her team quickly used a small, inexpensive test strip and within minutes, learned that pill was laced with the potentially deadly drug fentanyl. 

Fentanyl is largely responsible for an increase in overdose deaths in the United States over the decade. Now, each year, more than 100,000 people die from a drug overdose. 

13 Investigates found overdose deaths for children and teens nearly doubled between 2018 and 2023, according to a WTHR analysis of federal data. The review of data from …