BRISTOL, Tenn. — At the third annual Lights of Hope event Sunday evening, people told stories of addiction, learned about ways to fight the ongoing opioid epidemic and held candles to remember their loved ones who are still suffering from addiction or had their lives claimed by it. About 30 people attended the event, which was hosted by the Addicts Family and the Sullivan County Anti-Drug Coalition and was held at Anderson Park from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. “It’s to raise awareness and celebrate those in active addiction, those in recovery and those who have passed,” said Rhonda Coffey, founder of the Addicts Family. In 2017, there were 1,776 overdoses in Tennessee, of which 1,268 were opioid relat
Knoxville News Sentinel USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE Knoxville will be the 13th city to pilot a program designed to attack drug abuse and violent crime from all sides, the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration announced Tuesday. At an event at the Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley, DEA Louisville Special Agent In Charge D. Christopher Evans announced Knoxville will pilot the DEA’s 2-year-old “360 Strategy,” which he called “a model for communities struggling to break the cycle of drug trafficking, abuse and violence.” The program, designed specifically for cities dealing with opioid abuse and the associated violent crime, “takes DEA outside its normal role” an
Nashville Tennessean USA TODAY NETWORK - TENNESSEE Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn says she is “open” to legalizing medical marijuana, going a step beyond her Democratic opponent on the topic in Tennessee’s U.S. Senate race. While Blackburn and former Gov. Phil Bredesen dodged a question about medical marijuana during their first debate Tuesday, both addressed the issue later in follow-up questions from USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee. “Marsha believes legalizing drugs would be a mistake but would be open to medical cannabis,” Blackburn press secretary Abbi Sigler said Tuesday. Sigler also noted Blackburn’s belief that “drug addiction affects crime, deaths, is breaking families apart, an
CLAY COUNTY, Tenn. (WZTV) - They say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but one Tennessee town may disagree. Clay County, Tennessee, has received national attention after a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation revealed its pharmacies purchased enough drugs last year to provide 270 pain pills for every man, woman, and child living in Clay County. It's the job of DEA agents to monitor how controlled substances move throughout the country. Their databases red flag places and physicians that are high prescribers, and that's what brought them to Clay County, which sits about 30 miles north of Cookeville along the Kentucky border. Home to just 7,800 people, it doesn't have much by wa
In 2015, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control ranked Tennessee’s Campbell County third in the nation for opioids prescribed per capita. That wasn’t the future Dr. Geogy Thomas, Knoxville ’15, envisioned 18 years ago when he moved to tiny Jellico, located in Campbell County near the Kentucky border. Fresh out of medical training in California, he had planned to be a missionary overseas with his wife. First, though, they detoured to Jellico to pay off his student loans through two years of medical service to an underserved community. “We fell in love with this place, these mountains and, especially, its people,” Thomas says. “It was a different kind of need than being overseas, but it was exac
When Alex MacPherson, a corporal with the Columbia Police Department, rushed into the bathroom, he saw a young woman in the bathtub and her boyfriend frantically splashing water on her, trying to revive her. MacPherson grabbed the vial of Narcan he carries and sprayed it up her nose. “Within 30 to 45 seconds, she began breathing spontaneously, and within a minute or so she had opened her eyes and began regaining consciousness,” MacPherson says. MacPherson had participated in training provided by the UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center (LEIC) that was funded by the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation. BlueCross received a grant to combat the widespread problem of opioid abuse
One word seems to sum up the Center for Addiction Science at UT Health Science Center: committed. Committed to helping the addicted. Committed to researching addiction. Committed to building community with medical professionals. In the fall of 2016, the center received a prestigious national designation for that commitment. It was named the first Center of Excellence in Addiction Medicine in the country by the Addiction Medicine Foundation for combining education, clinical care, research and community outreach in one entity. “We recognized the unmet addiction need, and we are working to address it head on, both in our region and nationwide,” Dr. David Stern, founder and then-dean of the UTHS
Imagine if the state of Tennessee was almost completely devoid of crime. It sounds far-fetched. And, it is. But it isn’t totally impossible. A majority of crimes committed in the state—large and small—stem from the opioid epidemic. And, the opioid problem is worse in East Tennessee than anywhere else in the state. Knox County ranks third in the state for opioid-related deaths, with 294 dying last year and more than a 186 by the middle of August 2018, according to the county’s Office of the District Attorney General. Neighboring Campbell County ranked third in the nation in 2015 for opioid prescriptions per capita, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. East Tenness
How do you find the light amidst all the darkness? Own your truth, know you are capable of overcoming and be a message of hope. Repeat. I grew up a child of divorce, the daughter of an addict and the survivor of a parent’s suicide. My truth. I was 4 years old when my parents divorced. My dad had struggled with an alcohol and a prescription opioid addiction for many years. Throughout my childhood, my dad wasn’t around very much. I thought that my dad chose drugs over me. Time after time for years, his ever-empty chair at my recitals, games and ceremonies was a source of constant disappointment. It led to self-blame, guilt and a lack of confidence and self-worth. Other than inside my house, fa
Grandparents as Parents Support Group Hosted by Knoxville-Knox County CAC Office on Aging Tuesday, September 25, 2018 at 10 AM – 12 PM about 3 weeks ago Knoxville-Knox County CAC Office on Aging 2247 Western Ave, Knoxville, Tennessee 37921 https://www.facebook.com/events/841267489330843/
Today, more than 1,600 American teenagers will take the first step in a lifelong cycle of drug addiction. Today, 115 Americans will die from prescription painkiller overdoses. Today, someone you know is struggling in silence and denial. Today, UT Martin alumni are doing something about it. “There’s no socioeconomic divide. It touches everyone, and it doesn’t matter who you are or what your background is. There’s always a risk for addiction, and it happens in all kinds of families,” says Suzanne Harper (Martin ’11), director of the Weakley County Prevention Coalition, as she discusses the 2016 national statistics for opioid and drug abuse. The coalition’s staff of four works to combat drugs,
Austin Holdsworth was a freshman at UT Chattanooga when his brother died. Heroin killed him. He was 24. “He had a long battle with his addiction,” Holdsworth says. “Throughout his battle, I met so many others that were fighting the same fight as him: people I came to love as friends and family, even after my brother’s death. And so many of them seem to be just disregarded and judged by the world. And so many of them have also lost their lives over the last few years.” Those experiences, those people and the lessons he learned drove Holdsworth, now a senior in marketing and entrepreneurship, to reach out to Students for Opioid Solutions, a grassroots organization that started at the Universit
The game is “Legal or Illegal?” Name a substance and answer the question. Caffeine? That’s legal. Methamphetamines? Illegal. Alcohol? Depends on the age of the user. And opioids? Could be both. The game with a serious message was played during a 4-H meeting at Humboldt’s East Elementary, part of “Health Rocks,” a curriculum focusing on substance abuse. 4-H is the youth development program for UT and Tennessee State University Extension. C.J. Bryson, a teen volunteer, lead the exercise and talked to the fourth-graders about making smart decisions. “By me teaching them these things, they know that it’s something that’s not good for them, and they shouldn’t do it,” Bryson says. With a nationwid
At first glance it seems so small— .6 percentage points. “That’s massive,” says Matt Harris, UT Knoxville assistant professor of economics. The .6 percent represents the percentage point drop in labor force participation rates when there is a 10 percent increase in prescription opioid rates. That means fewer people are packing a sack lunch and clocking in for eight hours on a job. That small percentage point has millions of repercussions. And it factors into the opioid epidemic. There is a Strong Negative Correlation Between Prescription Opioid Abuse and Labor Force Participation Rates Across the Southeastern United States Source: Paulozzi et al.(2014); IMS Health; and U.S. Census Bureau, 2
KNOX COUNTY — The majority of people who overdose survive. A new initiative started by the Knox County Health Department targets people who overdose to get them help. "Your biggest risk for overdosing is having overdosed before," said Dr. Martha Buchanan, the Director of the Knox County Health Department. "People who overdose are likely to overdose again." Between October of 2016 and September of 2017, 1,268 people were administered Naloxone in Knox County. RESOURCES: Seeking help about opioids? Here are options Of those, 93 people had received the overdose reversing drug on at least two occasions in the same time period. The goal is now to bring that number down to zero by connecting with p
HAPEVILLE, Ga. -- They're characters that any child would recognize - Homer Simpson, Hello Kitty and even the Minions from the Despicable Me. But candy-like drugs confiscated by the Hapeville Police Department definitely aren't for kids. The pills were just part of a Friday drug bust that also uncovered a stolen firearm, suspected marijuana, cannabis lollypops and even what police believe was cocaine in powder form. Authorities didn't release how they came about the drug bust but, just over a month before Halloween, they warned parents, teachers and coaches to make sure children know the dangers of these fake candies. https://www.wbir.com/article/news/drugs-disguised-as-candy-found-in-hapevi
Tennessee's opioid crisis has created an urgent need for foster homes, according to Youth Villages, an organization that provides emotional, mental and behavioral health solutions for children across the country. A release from Youth Villages reports that nearly 8,000 children are in foster care but only about 4,000 families are willing to open their homes. "I've been doing it almost 5 years and I love every minute of it," said Shelly Tallman, who is a foster parent. The organization blamed the opioid epidemic in Tennessee, a state with the second highest rate of opioid prescriptions in the country, for causing a dramatic rise in the number of children in need of foster homes. "To stop and l
The Drug Enforcement Administration formally announced its plan to implement its 360 Strategy on Tuesday, a new initiative to address prescription opioid use, heroin use and violent crime in Knoxville and the surrounding areas. The 360 Strategy aims to stop "prescription opioid and heroin abuse by eliminating the drug trafficking organizations and gangs fueling violence on the streets and addiction in communities," according to a press release from the DEA. Community willpower is key, officials said in a press conference Tuesday, but not to "expect changes overnight." The DEA will also partner with healthcare professionals and social service organizations to help provide long-term help to th
