Opioid Abatement Strategy County Highlights: Q1 2025

Section title superimposed over an orange map of Tennessee with Lake, Maury, and Union counties highlighted in blue.

West: Lake County Seeking to improve both treatment outcomes as well as continuity of care between services, Lake County has funded a certified peer recovery specialist (CPRS) to work directly in the county jail. A CPRS is an individual in recovery who has met training requirements and is certified by

Opioid Settlements in Tennessee: “Where are We Now” Analysis by The Sycamore Institute

Title superimposed over a graph, which itself is superimposed over an Appalachian town in the mountains.

This excellent overview by The Sycamore Institute of where Tennessee is now with regards the opioid settlements. This report also details some of the work that SMART has done with county governments and used some of our payment projection data for their graphics.    

(Podcast) Getting Naloxone on College Campuses & Other Interventions

Podcast episode title featuring pictures and titles of the guests, Dr. Jessi Gold and Megan McKnight

Click here to listen on Spotify The data is clear: 18-25 is a critical time for substance use and mental health interventions. This is why programs implemented on college campuses have significant impacts. But that isn’t to say these interventions are easy to launch. My guests this month are Dr.

(Podcast) If Opioid Prescriptions Are Down, Why Are Overdose Deaths Still So High?

Graphic depicting episode title and headshot of Dr. Clay Jackson against the Appalachian mountains.

Click here to listen on Spotify There’s no question that over-prescribing of opioids kick-started the opioid crisis – the data is so overwhelming that nearly two dozen major companies have settled lawsuits to the tune of tens of billions of dollars because of that evidence. We’ve since dramatically cut the

The Rise of Xylazine Shows Why Local Data Must Inform Policy and Spending Decisions

Article title superimposed over a needle and pills, featuring the NCMJ logo.

Local governments have been given direct control over a substantial amount of opioid settlement funding. While state-level data sources are valuable inputs, city and county leaders should consider local data sources when making decisions to ensure timely responses to emerging threats, as is exemplified by the rise of xylazine. Read

Opioid Abatement Strategy County Highlights: Q3 2024

Article title superimposed over a map of Tennessee with Dyer, Sumner, and Roane counties highlighted.

East – Roane County Roane County has been awarded the Excellence in the Application of the Opioid Litigation Principles. These principles, crafted by a coalition of organizations across the substance use field and expert faculty from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, represents a set of evidence-based strategies

Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council Statewide Community Grants: Cycle 2 Announcement

Article title superimposed over a gavel, money, and pills.

The Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council (OAC) has announced the next round of statewide community grants. The due date for applications is Dec. 13, 2024 at 10 p.m. central time. The application portal will open at 12 a.m. central time on November 12 and close at 10 p.m. central time on

SMART in the news: Large Crowd Shows Up To Discuss Proposed Rehabilitation Center In Rhea County

A standing room only crowd attended the workshop of the Rhea County Commission for a discussion on a continuing item, Our Fathers House….Commissioner Stephens said, “I am not against this. We need to slow down and make sure that we see that it is done right. I am not against

Roane County Recognized for Opioid Settlement Strategy

Roane County is honored to announce it has received an award for Excellence in the Application of the Opioid Litigation Principles. These principles, crafted by a coalition of organizations across the substance use field and expert faculty from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, represents a set of

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