'It's the greatest gift' | Women in Recovery Reunite with Families for Christmas
LENOIR CITY, Tenn. — For sixteen years, Tierra Wiggins was addicted to methamphetamines. She doesn't remember all of her Christmases, but she knows they weren't great. "It was just hiding and just being alone, being scared, hungry and cold, not caring," Wiggins said. "So, really depressing." Her two kids, Cheyenne and Dakota Wiggins, remember worrying if she were okay. Cheyenne, 13, said she would ask her dad every year to see Tierra. Dakota, 11, had not seen his mother since
Tennessee Harm Reduction Workers Combat Stigma to Save Lives
Overdose deaths in Shelby County, Tennessee have increased 62 percent this year compared to the same period in 2018, according to local health department data. Tennessee’s overall rate of drug-related deaths, at 24.3 per 100,000 residents, is much higher than the national rate of 19.2 per 100,000. Shelby is the state’s largest and most populous county, containing the city of Memphis. Most of the deaths there involved opioids; as of a December 7 report, Shelby had suffered 299
Deadly Drug Overdoses Continue to Rise in Davidson County
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A glimpse into Metro Public Health Department's latest quarterly report on drug overdoses reveal a growing and troubling trend in Davidson County. The report, which should be released and finalized next month, shows the number of deadly drug overdoses in Nashville through September of this year surpassed the total number of deaths in 2018. In the first nine months of the year, there were at least 333 cases of deadly drug overdoses. There were 331 thr
Sacklers Paid Themselves More after Purdue Pharma Fined For Painkiller Marketing
The family received $4.1 billion in cash between 2008 and 2017 after the company was fined for misleading the public about OxyContin’s addiction risks. Geoff Mulvihill The wealthy owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma started taking far more money out of the company after it was fined for misleading marketing of the powerful prescription painkiller. A court filing made by the company Monday evening shows Purdue made payments for the benefit of members of the Sackler family
Opioid Addiction Treatment Center Planned to Come to Maryville
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - "My first thought was the day I knew was coming, is here," said Sherry Petrowski. Zac Talbott's goal is to help hundreds of people in the East Tennessee ara (Source: WVLT) In 2014 her son, Chris Sullivan, died of an opioid overdose. "When you're the mother of an addict every time a phone rings, every time you walk away from your child you feel like it's the last time," explained Petrowski. She wants to see the crisis come to a halt, and one Maryville
Tennessee Bill would Require Warning Labels on Vaping Products
NASHVILLE (WJHL) — A bill introduced in the Tennessee Senate would require warning labels on vaping products sold in the state if passed into law. SB 1556 by Sen. Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville) applies to “any noncombustible product containing nicotine or any other substance that employs a mechanical heating element, battery, electronic circuit, or other mechanism, regardless of shape or size, that can be used to produce or emit vapor,” including electronic cigarettes and vapor
Crackdown on Vaping at School Includes Detectors, Court Hearings
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Students caught with sleek electronic cigarettes or vaping devices on Oak Ridge Schools property can expect a citation to appear in court in addition to school suspension and required health classes. HALO vaping detector can detect vapor from an e-cigarette or vaping device. It's all part of a crackdown to prevent and deter students from becoming addicted to this latest version of a cigarette. The state of Tennessee has 74 reported cases of lung inju
Local Pharmacist Discusses the Use of CBD for Variety of Complaints
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Cannabidiol or CBD, a hemp-derived product is now available at an increasing number of places around Oak Ridge and elsewhere in Tennessee. Over 40 people came to an Altrusa International of Oak Ridge meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel in Oak Ridge to hear Jack Greene, Jefferson Compounding Center’s manager and owner, explain about the CBD products he sells and their uses. “I was not ready to carry this product two years ago,” Greene said. However, he said cust
Judge Backs Knox News' Bid to Unseal Latest Big Pharma Opioid Lawsuit
A Knox County judge refused a bid on Friday for secrecy by a pharmacy supplier accused in a lawsuit of conspiring with Big Pharma to profiteer from the opioid epidemic fueled by the industry. AmerisourceBergen, a top Fortune 500 company that sold over 712 million pills to Tennessee pharmacies in eight years, wanted Knox County Circuit Court Judge Kristi Davis to keep secret its client list and details about the misdeeds the state attorney general’s office alleges in a lawsuit
Drug-Related Deaths Slowly Climbing in Knox; Meth on Rise
Knox County’s number of drug-related deaths is still rising, but nowhere nearly as rapidly as it was. Between 2017-2018, the number of drug-related countywide deaths rose 3.2%, from 316 people to 325, according to Knox County Regional Forensic Center’s annual Drug-Related Death Statistics report. While still an increase, it’s nowhere near the 41% spike between 2016-2017, which Knox County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan attributed to an explosion of death