(WJHL) – SULLIVAN COUNTY, TENNESSEE Local leaders and advocates in Sullivan County, Tennessee are working to address the growing problem posed by the drug fentanyl, while the Virginia Senate passed a bill declaring it a weapon of terrorism.
According to Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus, “right now, fentanyl seems to be our number one drug of choice.”
According to preliminary data, fentanyl was involved in 30 of the 60 drug-related fatalities that occurred in the area last year.
Read more:Â A Pharmacist From Virginia Was Found Guilty of Participating in a $1 Million Medicare Fraud Scam.
Synthetic opioid fentanyl can be up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. It plays an important role in both fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the United States.
Over 2,000 people in Tennessee lost their lives in 2020 to fentanyl-related drug overdoses, as reported by the state’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
It’s an exponential rise from 2015 when 169 people died from fentanyl overdoses and more than double the number for 2019.
According to News Channel 11, the county has taken several measures to combat fentanyl use. This was confirmed by Staubus. Overdose cases in the area are being investigated by a local drug task force, which hopes to identify those involved in the drug’s distribution and sale.
According to Craig Forrester, Recovery Resources’ program director, fentanyl use has increased in the Tri-Cities in recent years. There has been a significant uptick in the number of patients he sees, he said.
Read more:Â A Theft Charge Against Santos in Pennsylvania Was Dismissed in 2018.
In his words, “heroin moved into our area,” Forrester explained the influx of the drug. Heroin has had fentanyl added to it within the last five years because “it’s cheaper, you get higher, and then probably sometime within the [last] five years.”
It used to have fentanyl cut into it, but now the guys we let into our homes are searching for pure fentanyl.
Forrester stressed the importance of education in addressing the fentanyl epidemic and bringing about community healing.
Forrester argued that the best way for the community to recover is for people to “stand by one another,” punish those at fault and inform others about the risks associated with drug use.
