Fentanyl overdoses occur from ingesting the synthetic opioid. But popular culture has misrepresented the risks to first responders.
How Nashville is addressing overdoses in its booming tourism district
Business owners and city officials in Nashville have implemented a program that uses an opioid reversal kit created in West Virginia to bolster harm reduction efforts in the city’s tourism district.
Tennessee prisons install high-tech scanners to try to deter contraband
Starting in 2023, high-tech screenings will be the new standard at Tennessee’s state prisons, as officials fight to control a wave of deadly drugs being snuck inside the gates.
Autopsy confirms 2022 Bonnaroo death was from a drug overdose
An autopsy conducted by a Tennessee medical examiner confirms that a death this year at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival was the result of an accidental drug overdose. WPLN News obtained the report through the state’s open records act.
28 people have died of overdoses in Tennessee’s prisons this year. Lawsuits blame understaffing and easily available drugs.
More than two dozen people have died of overdoses behind bars in Tennessee this year. Twelve of those deaths happened in privately operated prisons, run by Brentwood-based CoreCivic.
Tennessee just started distributing fentanyl test strips, and even the top cop likes the early results
The state’s agency overseeing substance abuse is finding the drug-checking kits are more effective than expected.
Metro Police warn dangerous fentanyl-laced drugs are everywhere downtown
Metro Police are warning that dangerous fentanyl is showing up in all kinds of street drugs, but especially cocaine that’s sold in downtown Nashville.
Person who died at Bonnaroo identified, though the cause remains unconfirmed
Law enforcement confirmed the identity of one death from Bonnaroo 2022, though the cause remains under investigation.
Fentanyl test kits are now legal in Tennessee, but groups still can’t distribute them at Bonnaroo
Bonnaroo is back after a two-year hiatus. And this year, the promoter has welcomed a nonprofit to distribute the overdose reversal drug naloxone as drug deaths continue to soar among young adults. But the festival still hasn’t embraced more controversial forms of harm reduction.
Tennessee joins growing list of states legalizing at-home tests to detect fentanyl in drugs
Rapid tests that can detect the powerful opioid fentanyl may soon become much more available in Tennessee.
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