Drug Policy Analysis

The SMART Policy Network periodically publishes research findings, data and best practices in the form of policy briefs, white papers and fact sheets. You can join our mailing list to get the latest publications in your inbox.

  • Portable Spectrometers: Improving Public Health Responses to Drug Trends by Partnering with Law Enforcement

    The overdose crisis is defined by constantly shifting trends in the illicit drug market, but collecting data on these drugs at the local level can be a time-consuming process for many reasons, slowing public health responses. By using portable spectrometers, law enforcement can analyze drugs they seize, detecting timely changes in local drug trends.

  • What is the Risk of “Captagon” and Other Pill-Pressed Stimulants in Tennessee?

    “Captagon,” which was banned in the 1980s but has since become the most popular drug in the Middle East, where it is strongly tied to weapons and human trafficking. In the last few years, it has been increasingly seized in Western Europe and the trade may be spreading to other countries. It is not unreasonable to suspect that the “Captagon” trade could flourish here, particularly in a state like Tennessee, where stimulants remain a significant and growing share of the drug demand. The purpose of this brief is not to claim that “Captagon” will come to Tennessee, but to identify the risk of that happening.

  • Prior Authorizations and Addiction Treatment

    The United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid defines a prior authorization as “an approval from a health plan that may be required before you get a service or fill a prescription in order for the service or prescription to be covered by your plan.” Prior authorization exists as a process that allows the insurer to unilaterally determine if the service or medication is medically necessary, saving the insurer money by offloading the cost to the patient or another payer. In most cases, the insurers develop their own standards for review based on information like costs, effectiveness and medical guidelines. These standards are seldom available to the public.

  • MAT/MATE Acts

    The DATA Waiver (or X waiver) requirement was removed in the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, meaning providers no longer have to register with the DEA to prescribe buprenorphine as part of treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Federally, providers already authorized to prescribe controlled substances can now prescribe buprenorphine for OUD, but providers must still be aware of and follow any practicing state regulations. Whereas state law does not conflict with federal requirements for physicians, Tennessee state law still imposes limitations on buprenorphine prescribing for nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs). With the X-waiver removal, the United States’ overdose rates could possibly decline, given the results seen in other countries.

  • Xylazine Facts

    Xylazine is a non-opioid chemical originally approved for veterinary use in 1972 as an animal sedative, but it has never been approved for use in humans because of serious harmful side effects. It is sometimes called “tranq” and might be sought by people who inject drugs to lengthen the duration of short-acting fentanyl injections. However, many people who suffer from acute xylazine toxicity did not know they had ingested or injected it.

  • The Need for Point-of-Care Testing of All Illicit Substances

    An estimated 107,477 overdose deaths occurred in the United States within the last year, with about 4,000 of those deaths being Tennesseans. Over 80 percent of these deaths are attributable to opioids such as fentanyl, for which there does not exist tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for point-of-care testing (POCT). POCT is intended to be used near or at the site of the patient and is performed outside of a physical clinical laboratory, usually at the bedside. A classic example of this is a bedside glucose test in the hospital.

  • Broadband Update: Public Broadband is Coming to Knoxville

    At the end of June, 2021, Knoxville City Council voted in favor of the public broadband plan proposed by Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB). Over the next ten years, KUB will lay fiber optic cable and begin offering public broadband internet as a fifth utility.

  • Better Broadband for Better Health

    Broadband access is increasingly seen as a “super-determinant” of health, affecting not only healthcare delivery but educational and employment opportunities. When it comes to the treatment of substance use disorder (SUD), telehealth directly addresses the most common access barriers faced by rural patients. However, telehealth is not being utilized in rural areas as much as it could be, due to a lack of broadband internet access and affordability.

  • Telehealth Improves Access to Treatment for Substance Use Disorder

    About 400,000 Tennesseans have substance use disorder (SUD). Only one in 10 Tennesseans who need treatment for SUD obtain it, mainly due to local provider shortages, long distances between a small number of treatment centers, stigma and cost. Telehealth directly addresses barriers and improves access to care.

UT Libraries’ licensing agreements restrict access to certain academic journals and online sources to current faculty, staff and students. It is a copyright violation to share PDF copies from publishers who have not made those articles openly available.

If you have trouble accessing a citation, check to see if any free/open access copies of the exist by using tools such as the Unpaywall extension for Firefox and Chrome, Open Access Button, Tennessee Electronic Library (or other free virtual library based in your state), Google Scholar or TRACE. Your public library or other affiliated library/institution may be able to access an article free of charge or at minimal cost through an interlibrary loan program.