New State Opioid Restrictions will take Effect July 1
Knoxville News Sentinel USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE As of July 1, if you have a prescription for opioid drugs, you’ll see some changes when you go to the pharmacy. That’s the date legislation related to Gov. Bill Haslam’s sweeping TN Together opioid reform takes effect. Haslam budgeted more than $30 million in state and federal funds to attack the opioid epidemic through prevention, treatment and law enforcement. Limits on supply, strength The biggest change has to do with
Here's What New Tennessee Opioid Restrictions Mean at Your Doctor's Office and Pharmacy
Limits on supply, strength The biggest change has to do with how much of a drug you can get and when. Under the new law, pharmacists can only partially fill a prescription for no more than half of the number of days it’s written for. And there are limits on prescriptions, too: General prescriptions are limited to a 10-day supply (and no more than 500 cumulative morphine milligram equivalents). Prescriptions after surgery are limited to a 20-day supply (maximum 850 cumulative
Tennessee Together Legislation
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Overdose Deaths Nearly Double Among African-Americans In Tennessee
Overdose deaths among African-Americans in Tennessee have roughly doubled since 2012. Fatalities from opioids are still growing among whites in the state, but deaths among blacks are surging twice as fast. Figures from the state's health department show blacks accounted for just 15 percent of all overdose deaths in the most recent year data is available. But that masks that the number of blacks dying from opioids is rising fast. In 2012, black deaths were just eight percent o
Harm Reduction: How to Engage Parent Advocates Effectively
I’ve had to correct parents whose first line to any policymaker is “my kid was from a good family, not just some homeless person.” “I never thought I would end up here, but here I am. I choose to create beauty in the space left in this world that my daughter used to occupy” - Lettie Micheletto, mother of Megan McPhail, 1987-2014. Lettie Micheletto never thought she’d find herself on the steps of the General Assembly advocating for better treatment of people who use drugs. Nei
Residents Concerned about Rehab House Opening Near North Hills Neighborhood
The possibility of a rehab house coming to the North Hills neighborhood area in Knoxville is alarming some residents. "Most of us have been here over 20 years and we just don't want something like this in the neighborhood," Diane Merritt, who lives in North Hills, said. The community met for the second time on Thursday night to discuss the issues they have with the city and with the rehab house manager. Tracy Miller-Davis grew up in the house that will soon become a rehab hou
Tennessee Lawmakers Plan to Renew Medical Pot Legalization Effort with Bill Named after Trump
Heartened by President Donald Trump's recent comments about marijuana, two Tennessee lawmakers who are physicians plan to renew efforts next year to legalize medical cannabis and are naming the bill after the president.
Rep. Bryan Terry, R-Murfreesboro, and Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville, who unsuccessfully pressed a medical cannabis bill in this year's General Assembly, say they are working on a bill that includes expanded medical research with treatment options that ut
KARM Wrapping Up Addition to Serenity Shelter
A program aiming to help women create a fresh start is getting a facelift. Knox Area Rescue Ministries created Serenity as a way to get women the resources they need. The program is free and tailored to women battling addiction, domestic violence, and homelessness. Last year, it launched renovations to improve the program and build a new women's facility. The $1.6 million addition will allow KARM to help even more women start fresh. "When a woman comes to a point that she's m
Miss Chattanooga Christine Williamson Takes the Crown
JACKSON – Christine Williamson has competed for Miss Tennessee for five years without a lot of success in preliminaries in previous four years. That all changed over the course of this week, but loss is a distant memory now as Miss Tennessee Christine Williamson will represent the state in the Miss America Pageant. Williamson won her group’s talent competition and lifestyle and fitness competition earlier in the week. While that wasn’t a definite indicator of success on the f
Why TCOG, News Sentinel Fighting to Unseal Purdue Pharma's OxyContin Sales Secrets
In 2007, the state of Tennessee and 25 other states reached a $19.5 million settlement agreement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, who they alleged was violating consumer laws in the marketing of their cash cow opioid drug. Among other allegations, the states said Purdue engaged in illegal marketing and downplayed the risks of addiction. Tennessee’s portion of the settlement was about $720,000. Kentucky decided its $500,000 portion was too small, and pulled out of the settl