Knox County sees unusually high overdose activity during 48-hour period
November 4, 2022; 3:01 p.m.

KNOX COUNTY -- From Nov. 1-3, there were 32 reported overdoses in Knox County. Fortunately, at the time of response, all were nonfatal. This is an unusually high number for this time frame which typically sees a quarter of what is currently being reported.

EMS partners have indicated that the majority of these nonfatal overdoses pertained to heroin, though it is suspected that fentanyl was involved in nearly all of them as well.

“This is a sad statistic that proves we have a lot more work to do on the opioid epidemic,” said Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.

“We encourage friends, families, and neighbors to check on their loved ones who may be at risk for an overdose and let them know there is high overdose activity right now,” said Erin Read, Division Director of Substance Misuse Response at KCHD. “We urge anyone who is planning on using drugs to always have naloxone on hand and to never use alone.”

Free naloxone may be obtained by reaching out to the Metro Drug Coalition at 865-588-5550.

The first health department in Tennessee to achieve national voluntary accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board, the Knox County Health Department (KCHD) is dedicated to ensuring the conditions in which every resident can be healthy. For more information, visit www.knoxcounty.org/health.