(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

SMART in the news: “Fatal Overdoses in Nashville are Down More Than 20 percent in 2024”

SMART’s Middle Tennessee Substance Use Response Consultant, Trevor Henderson, provides some key insight into what we are seeing with overdose trends. See below and read the full article for all pertinent information. “Still, the new data provides grounds for cautious optimism about turning the tide of a crisis that has

Webinar: Using Local Data to Inform Decisions

SMART’s Program Coordinator, Jeremy Kourvelas, presented to the Tennessee Public Health Association (TPHA) on best practices relating to using local data to inform decisions, covering: common challenges with data collection and quality data-influenced policymaking frameworks data and the overdose crisis practical recommendations with examples from abating the overdose epidemic. This

(New Policy Brief) Beyond Fentanyl Test Strips: The Need to Decriminalize All Drug Checking Equipment in Tennessee

KEY POINTS In 2022, Tennessee decriminalized fentanyl test strips (FTS) through Public Chapter 764. Thousands have since been distributed by the state and nonprofit coalitions as a key harm reduction strategy. As of the end of 2023, 44 other states and D.C. had also decriminalized FTS. Research indicates that people

“Has fentanyl peaked?” is the wrong question.

On May 21, the New York Times published an article titled “Has Fentanyl Peaked?” The premise is that the “opioid crisis…may finally be turning around” based on the fact that preliminary data from the CDC shows that drug overdose deaths slightly declined in 2023, now down to 107,543 estimated deaths

(Podcast) Nashville’s Overdose Co-Response Unit Brings Harm Reduction to Law Enforcement

Click here to listen on Spotify As the drug overdose deaths continue to climb, we have heard more and more Sheriffs and law enforcement officers across the state say “we can’t arrest ourselves out of this problem.” That the criminal justice system plays an important role, but not the only

New Policy Brief: What is the Risk of “Captagon” and Other Pill-Pressed Stimulants in Tennessee?

KEY POINTS The U.S. is the world’s largest market for amphetamine-type stimulants. While “ice” methamphetamine is the predominant type seized in Tennessee, amphetamine powder, cocaine, designer stimulants like MDMA, and diverted pharmaceuticals are also encountered. In fact, non-medical use of pharmaceutical amphetamines is the most predominant type of amphetamine use

(Podcast) Decoding Autopsies: What Medical Examiners See That Others Miss

Click here to listen on Spotify When the CDC reports that almost 4,000 Tennesseans died of a drug overdose in 2023, it can be easy to forget that each one of those numbers represents a human being that was found deceased, investigated by law enforcement, and analyzed by a medical

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