Tennessee police, health officials can't keep up with opioid crisis

Brandy Mayo, of Nashville, holds up the funeral programs from four family members who died from addiction while speaking during The Tennessean's Opioid Epidemic Forum on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, at the First Amendment Center in Nashville.
(Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)
Brandy Mayo, of Nashville, holds up the funeral programs from four family members who died from addiction while speaking during The Tennessean's Opioid Epidemic Forum on Wednesday, June 15, 2016, at the First Amendment Center in Nashville. (Photo: Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean)

As Tennessee officials continue to grapple with the growing abuse of opioids, overdose deaths and babies born addicted, a panel of law enforcement, public health and insurance officials Wednesday described a problem that has remained one step out of reach of efforts to combat it.

"We're going in the right direction, but we're still not going fast enough," said Dr. Mitchell Mutter, medical director of special projects for the Tennessee Department of Health.

Opioid abuse remains the state's No. 1 public health crisis, and more people in the state died from opioid overdoses than in car accidents or by gunshots in 2014.

Read more from our news partner, The Tennessean, here.

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