SMART Initiative - Substance Misuse and Addiction Resource for Tennessee

08/05/2026

The 988 program has been truly impactful in TN. If you or someone you know needs to get connected to or support, call 988.

https://champ.ly/cuU4Bu0C

08/04/2026

CTAS Executive Director Jon Walden, SMART's sister agency that serves county governments, was featured on the TCSA podcast. Want to learn more about how UT serves county governments? Listen at the link below - it'll be a great way to learn more about the kind of work that influenced the creation of SMART!

https://champ.ly/eaikRcgT

08/03/2026

"Between 2015 and 2025, there were a total of 14,449 -related reports made to a poison center. In 2015, there were 258 kratom-related reports, while in 2025 there was a sharp increase with 3,434 reports, which represents an increase of approximately 1,200% (see graph below). Of these, the majority involved exposure to a single substance (62%) and the remaining 38% involved multiple substances. Despite this higher number of single-substance reports, reports involving multiple substances occurred at higher rates, with a range of 467 – 5,442 per 1 million reports versus a range of 388-4,045 per 1 million single-substance reports."

https://champ.ly/9K57sM2s

07/31/2026

"Insurers, medical societies, and other health industry leaders pledged to "advance evidence-based, high-quality, patient-centered care for individuals experiencing conditions and the chronic disease of ." Specific best practices include timely access to and evidence-based and patient-centered care, according to the HHS press release.
[...]
Unsurprisingly, payment and access were two major topics during Wednesday's roundtable discussion."

https://champ.ly/6aAC_Ra_

Meanwhile, enforcement of key mental health parity law remains in limbo

07/30/2026

"The drug overdose death rate increased in 19 of the last 25 years. The overdose death rate increased 7% since 2019 and increased 57% since 2014."

Truly staggering to see how consequential has been. 2014 is when synthetic opioids began overtaking the drug supply.

https://champ.ly/xBvO02sN

There were 79,384 overdose deaths in 2024. That means that for every 100,000 people living in the US, 23 died of a drug overdose. This is the fifth highest the drug overdose death rate has been since data from 1999 became available.

07/29/2026

The Committee approved nine bills, permanently scheduling and , boosting the ability to respond to (i.e., Tyler's Law, which tasks HHS to issue guidance on testing for in hospitals, funding for to have fentanyl or xylazine test strips, increasing the availability of in schools), and the Stop Pills That Kill Act, which regulates pill presses and punches and implements sentencing penalties for fentanyl and fentanyl analogue counterfeit pills.

Learn more: https://champ.ly/O3KzJSIu

On July 21st, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up a series of bipartisan bills aimed at combating the overdose crisis, preventing the spread of adulterated substances in the drug supply, and expanding overdose prevention efforts. The Committee approved nine bills, which will now advanc...

07/28/2026

Adolescent drug use - specifically ***co, *****na, and binge drinking - continues to decline. They also reported fewer depressive episodes and fewer thoughts of su***de.

However, more than half admitted to using a drug, drinking alocohol or using to***co/nicotine in the past month, with 44% being alcohol and 16% an illegal drug.

Further, nearly 20% still report moderate-severe , more than twice what adults over 18 report.

Though rates have continued to improve, there is still clearly work to be done with .

https://champ.ly/cJe7yLH5

A key U.S. government report on mental health, substance use and addiction shows continued improvements in several metrics, especially among young people.

07/27/2026

"Some people have suggested that the state comptroller, as a steward of New York’s finances, could play an oversight role, perhaps by conducting or requiring audits.
[...]
It’s “not telling states what is and what isn’t an appropriate use,” said Mariana Trujillo, a co-author of the Reason Foundation plan. “We’re simply trying to ensure recipients follow through with their promises.”
[...]
The office is following in the footsteps of comptrollers and auditors in New Jersey, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee, who have taken action on settlement cash."

https://champ.ly/X51NCWIV

The opioid settlements are a multibillion-dollar windfall with only loose spending suggestions rather than strict requirements. Some people directly affected by the crisis want stronger guardrails. But New York state’s experience highlights the challenge in finding a fiscal watchdog.

07/24/2026

"Doctor Volkow discusses the prevalence of drug use, the economic burden of substance abuse and what science now knows about what goes on in the brain when we are addicted. She uses brain imaging to investigate the toxic effects and addictive properties of abusable drugs. She studies changes in the dopamine system which affect the functions of the frontal brain regions involved with motivation, drive and pleasure in addiction."

https://champ.ly/jeOVRtzT

Doctor Nora Volkow MD, research psychiatrist and scientist, Direct...

07/23/2026

“FDA has identified significant risks associated with unapproved products, especially in the absence of appropriate medical supervision,” the agency wrote in the letters to marketers whose websites include ketaminetroches.com and legitketaminesuppliers.com. “The easy availability of unapproved and misbranded ketamine products via the internet puts U.S. consumers at risk for serious adverse events.”

https://champ.ly/NYNepK_h

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Food and Drug Administration are probing sales that have led to overuse and death.