Ingham County drug deaths fall even as Mid-Michigan total rises

Drug-related deaths across seven Mid-Michigan counties rose to 48 in the first quarter of 2026, up from 35 during the same period last year, according to a new report from the medical examiner's office at University of Michigan Health-Sparrow. Officials described the trend as a persistent crisis, with fentanyl and other opioids remaining the leading cause of death, frequently combined with stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine.

Ingham County recorded 20 drug-related deaths in the quarter, 19 of them ruled accidental. Causes included fentanyl mixed with cocaine, ethanol or methamphetamine. One case involving a 10-year-old was classified as indeterminate due to methadone toxicity.

Despite the regional increase, Ingham County's total was lower than the 2025 first-quarter figure, one of only two counties in the report, along with Isabella County, to see a decline. Eaton County reported four deaths, two of them suicides, while Ionia and Clinton counties reported four and three deaths, respectively.

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