Suing Wholesalers Won't Help Tennessee Solve Opioid Crisis
We do not need to review statistics to tell us we have too many opioid overdose deaths in Tennessee or that families and communities are suffering from opioid dependency. The crisis is real. But frivolous lawsuits are not the answer. The National Institute on Drug Abuse believes the genesis of the opioid addiction problem came when pharmaceutical manufacturers reassured the medical community that prescription opioid pain relievers were not addictive. Consequently, health care
CDC Warns of Serious Coagulopathy Outbreak Linked to Synthetic Cannabinoids
In response to a multistate outbreak of coagulopathy related to synthetic cannabinoids, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that all ‘high-risk’ patients (those who have reported use of or are suspected of using synthetic cannabinoids within the past 3 months) should be screened for vitamin K-dependent antagonist coagulopathy. Since brodifacoum – a long-acting vitamin K-dependent antagonist, used as a rodenticide – was detected in drug and bio
Hepatitis A Outbreak Confirmed in Nashville
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Metro Public Health Department officials announced on Friday details of a hepatitis A outbreak occurring in Nashville. Health department officials said there have been 14 confirmed cases of acute hepatitis A in Nashville since Dec. 1, 2017. The Metro Public Health Department is working with the Tennessee Department of Health on efforts to control the outbreak. People don’t need to look out for anything. This is an outbreak that we can contain if we vacc
Sullivan Judge Denies Dismissing Northeast Tennessee Opioid Lawsuit
BRISTOL, Tenn. — Motions made by three pharmaceutical companies and a local doctor to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to hold them responsible for the region’s opioid crisis were denied Tuesday by Sullivan County Chancery Court Judge E.G. Moody. The suit, filed by Northeast Tennessee district attorneys general, alleges that a 20-year fraudulent marketing campaign downplayed the effects of opioid prescription drug use and fueled the state’s “opioid epidemic.” Purdue Pharma and it
Wilson County Schools Weighs Drug-Testing Athletes, Which Would Join Sumner, Trousdale
Wilson County Schools will explore joining a limited number of districts that administer random drug tests to high school athletes and other extra-curricular participants, which supporters believe can be a preventive measure. The Wilson County School Board recently approved the go-ahead to setup a test program for illegal drugs that begins with formation of a committee to seek input and work on details of the potential program. Specifics would need to be brought back to the b
Agent: North Knox Man Buying Deadly Fentanyl from China, Korea
Authorities say a North Knoxville man was buying cheap but deadly fentanyl – a synthetic opiate showing up with fatal consequences in heroin – from makers in China and Korea and doling it out to drug dealers in East Tennessee. Kevin Mason was arraigned last week by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Guyton on charges including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and other synthetic drugs. Deadly mixer Fentanyl is manufactured cheaply in countries such as China and Korea. Heroin dealer
Agent: North Knox Man Buying Deadly Fentanyl from China, Korea
Authorities say a North Knoxville man was buying cheap but deadly fentanyl – a synthetic opiate showing up with fatal consequences in heroin – from makers in China and Korea and doling it out to drug dealers in East Tennessee. Kevin Mason was arraigned last week by U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Guyton on charges including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and other synthetic drugs. Deadly Mixer Fentanyl is manufactured cheaply in countries such as China and Korea. Heroin dealer
Pets Used to Score Pills; East Tenn. Veterinarians Fight Back with Stem Cells
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - As the opioid crisis continues to worsen in East Tennessee, it's not just physicians who are on the lookout for potential abusers. In an alarming new trend, people are using their pets to get their hands on drugs, and some veterinarians are using a novel approach to curb the problem. Dr. Terry Stevens, a pharmacist at the University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine and a member of the Governor's Opioid Abuse Task Force, had much to say o
Four Arrested in Roane County after $10,000 Methamphetamine Bust
A quarter pound of methamphetamine — worth approximately $10,000 — was allegedly found in van outside a Harriman motel and in a motel room at 4:30 a.m. on Memorial Day. Approximately 14.8 grams of methamphetamine was seized from the van at a Days Inn at 120 Childs Road, investigators said. Harriman police officers allegedly found additional methamphetamine, marijuana, two handguns, drug paraphernalia and $480. The arrest came after they served a search warrant at a motel room
Surgeon General at Vanderbilt: Ask about Naloxone — You Might Save a Life
Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Friday urged anyone who steps into a pharmacy in Tennessee to ask if they stock and sell Naloxone. It's a question he believed would raise demand, reduce prices and erase stigma for an anti-overdose drug that is central weapon in the war on the opioid epidemic. Adams stressed that the nation won’t escape the growing overdose crisis by depending purely on 911 and first responders, so getting Naloxone, also known widely as Narcan, into the hands