Carrying a Family Member's Prescription Pain Relievers Can have Unintended Consequences
Prescription pain relievers have become a new front in the war on drugs. As in all wars, there are innocent casualties. In Tennessee, something as simple as carrying a family member's prescription can result in the stigma of a felony drug conviction. A serious drug problem Abuse of prescription drugs, and of opioid-based pain relievers in particular, has become a serious health problem. More than half of all-drug overdose deaths involve prescription drugs such as Percocet and
Knox Co. Inmate Vivitrol Treatment to Begin
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Addiction Experts Praise Haslam's Drug Crimes Sentencing Initiative
At Westbrook Medical Center, they see the pain of addiction every day. “A lot of these people are parents,” said Marta Pratt, a nurse practitioner. “They’ve lost their children, made mistakes. They want help.” She said too many people battling addiction end up behind bars, and it doesn’t help them in their recovery, so once they get out, they go back to using.“When you send them to prison, there are no answers,” said Pratt. “No treatment.”It’s part of the reason she was pleas
First Knox Inmate Receives Anti-Opioid Injection
Greg Fox hopes a new medication will succeed where willpower has failed him as he became the first Knox County inmate to receive a trial injection of the anti-opioid drug Vivitrol on Monday. "I couldn't tell you the last time I've actually been high — I just do it to function, basically," said Fox, 38, who currently is jailed on theft charges stemming from the opioid addiction he has struggled with since 1992. "I'm getting too old for this." Fox is the first inmate approved f
Knox County Opioid Addicts with Criminal Charges to Get Injections to Curb Drug Cravings
Opioid addicts facing criminal charges in Knox County could receive the first doses of a drug to help them stay clean as part of a new pilot program this month. Officials expect the first injections of Vivitrol to be given as soon as next week to participating inmates who have pending charges for low-level, drug-related crimes as part of the "Shot At Life" drug diversion program. The new approach to fighting the opioid epidemic is being overseen by Knox County District Attorn
Safety Center Workshop Planned
The mentally ill and people with addiction issues need a place to go that's not jail, which many officials in Knox County agree upon. How that should happen is still a question. Knox County commissioners hope to get a little closer to an answer with a workshop Tuesday. "We really need to get all kinds of people on board," Commissioner Randy Smith said. He's on a commission committee that met this month to determine what's next with the concept of a safety center. The facility
Knoxville Police Chief Shares Personal Experience with Drug Epidemic
NASHVILLE (WATE) – Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch got emotional Thursday while sharing a personal connection to the drug epidemic. Rausch gave his account while speaking to the state legislature’s opioid task force, saying this is an issue that affects all of us – every family and every community. “You talk about the NAS issue, neonatal abstinence syndrome. I’m personally going through this. I have a stepson who is an addict. His girlfriend is an addict. They just had a
For Small-Town Tennessee Judge, Opioid Crisis is Personal
Judge Duane Slone observed the arc of the opioid crisis first-hand since painkiller-addiction began taking ahold of lives in the rural northeast Tennessee counties he serves. Lacy Atkins / The Tennessean. CLICK HERE TO WATCH
Majority of Cheatham County Crime Stems from Drug Addictions
CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WRKN) – Burglaries. Shootings. Robberies. Murders. Cheatham County drug agents say opioids are responsible for most crimes in their county. News 2’s Andy Cordan went out with members of the special ops unit to see the war from the frontlines of opioids. Lt. Shannon Heflin, who leads the county’s drug unit, says the pills are expensive. “They have an addiction doing three to four pills a day,” he said. It’s a several-hundred-dollar-a-day habit.” “They c
VIDEO: News 2 Hosts Town Hall on Tennessee’s Opioid Crisis
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – As we explored the grave epidemic our state and its residents are facing, News 2 sat down with experts and professionals who deal with drugs, addictions, and its costs on a daily basis. Tennessee’s Opioid Crisis special continued Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. during a closed town hall meeting. Anchors Sam Fisher and Eric Egan hosted the event with the following guests: Nan Casey, Director of Court Foundation Center Marie Williams, Commissioner of Men