Shelby County unveils plan to end opioid crisis
The Opioid Task Force, a broad coalition of experts and officials in Memphis and Shelby County, unveiled a strategy aimed at ending the opioid crisis locally last week.
The county will provide $2.4 million in the first year to implement the plan, which includes initiatives like mapping opioid-related deaths, raising public awareness, lowering the cost of treatment options, pushing for treatment over incarceration for addicts, and stiffer sentences for drug traffickers.
The county should have "wraparound" services for people suffering from opioid addiction by July 1, said Dr. David Stern, a vice chancellor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), who lost his son to opioid addiction.
This "novel plan" will "help stop opioid addiction in its tracks," Stern said. The plan has the support of the county, Memphis, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office, and the UTHSC, among other agencies.
County Commission chairwoman Heidi Shafer, who is chairing the task force, said the plan will help the county estimate the cost of the opioid crisis, which could become ammunition in an ongoing lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies.
The county's health department has more information on opioid addiction at its website, shelbytnhealth.com.
Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.