Tennessee residents who have been charged with drug crimes or other crimes in which drugs may have been a factor may know better than anyone else how serious the problem of drug addiction can really be. The effect these substances can have on the body and the mind can be extremely hard to combat which is why drug use may be associated with a negative, downward spiral for many people. Across Tennessee, there are many concerns about heroin and opioid abuse.
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, as many as 80 percent of all crimes in the state are somehow connected to drugs. The use of heroin is said to be on the rise in Tennessee and perhaps one of the biggest concerns about this is the inclusion of fentanyl, a potentially lethal synthetic opioid, with heroin. This drug is so strong that even contact with the skin can be fatal if the drug is in its pure state.
Of equal concern is prescription drug use and abuse. Of the five percent of people estimated to use opioid medications for non-medical reasons, as many as 70 percent of them received the drug from someone they know. The State of Tennessee indicates that Tennessee’s incidence of abuse of prescription medications is greater than the national average based on 2010 statistics.
Data from 2011 show that among people in state-run treatment programs, nearly 80 percent had some addiction to prescription drugs and another 17 percent were noted to be addicted to prescription drugs and heroin together. It is important for people to understand the hold that a drug can create on a person’s life.
