Jefferson County proudly announces it’s received one of the inaugural awards for Excellence in the Application of the Opioid Litigation Principles. The Opioid Litigation Principles were developed by a coalition of organizations from across the spectrum of the substance use field and by faculty and staff from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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 role. That there are many, many factors in the overdose epidemic.
In May 2023, Governor Lee signed SB 378/HB 403, which imposed significant regulations on the production and sale of hemp-derived cannabinoids, including Delta-8, Delta-10 and all other compounds known as cannabimimetics, which have effects on the same neurological system as marijuana.
TEMPO, or Training and Empowering Musicians to Prevent Overdoses, is a multi-coalition and nonprofit program to distribute naloxone and train musicians and concert venue workers to identify and prevent opioid overdoses. TEMPO has recently made waves in Nashville with a pilot program in partnership with Hikma, who makes Kloxxado, as well as ONEbox, to distribute high-tech overdose reversal first aid kits to music venues, and we at the SMART Initiative were impressed by their immediate results (they saved lives).
My guest this month is Karen Pershing, executive director of Metro Drug Coalition. In the last legislative session, Karen played a significant role in pushing for a bill that reduced the barrier to opening new syringe service programs in rural Tennessee.
In this episode, we discuss the impact of the bill, how it made it through the legislature, her behind-the-scenes role in the policymaking process, how young people can get more involved in the policy world in Tennessee and more.
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The Rocky Top Recovery Ambassadors are a group of college students, undergrad and grad, that identify as being in recovery and/or having a mental health disorder. Building an on-campus community of students wanting a safer, sober college experience, the ambassadors hosted weekly all-recovery meetings and mental health events, as well as sober-friendly social events like group yoga, concerts, bounce house obstacle courses and more.
