(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) Saving Lives in Jail: Naloxone Vending Machines, MAT, and Mental Health at Davidson County

Episode title featuring guest name and picture superimposed over Appalachian mountains.

Click here to listen on Spotify As we’ve discussed many times on this show, the criminal justice system has long since become the primary point of contact for substance use disorder, especially in Tennessee. My guest this month is Eric Bauder, Deputy Chief of Corrections for the Davidson County Sheriff’s

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

New Research: Do People Actually Use Fentanyl Test Strips to Avoid Overdose?

Fentanyl testing strips (FTS) were decriminalized in Tennessee in 2022, and since then have become a widely used tool for harm reduction efforts across the state. Considering that fentanyl has almost entirely replaced heroin and other opioids in the drug supply, we sought to find out if people remained interested

UT SMART and Partners Awarded Grand Challenges Grants

UT SMART is proud to announce that we are part of teams that have been awarded two of the Type 1 UT Grand Challenges grants, which have been launched to foster partnerships that develop innovative solutions to some of the state’s most pressing issues: strengthening rural communities, overcoming addiction, and

(Podcast) Data, Compassion, & Leadership: How Police Can Prevent Overdose Deaths

Click here to listen on Spotify When staff shortages and tight funding meet a rise in drug crime, you might not expect an overburdened police department to make extra work for themselves. Yet that is exactly what happened in Chattanooga in the mid 2010s, when calls to EMS started backing

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

(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

SMART in the news: “A chance collaboration between the nightlife director and a police sergeant has yielded a breakthrough”

“One of his partners in that effort was Trevor Henderson, the former director of Metro Public Health’s Overdose Response Program who is now working as a substance use response consultant with the University of Tennessee’s SMART Initiative — or, Substance Misuse and Addiction Resource for Tennessee. A year or so

(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

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