Cherokee considers needle exchange program
Cherokee hopes to combat the high Hepatitis C rates resulting from the heroin epidemic with a needle exchange program, aiming to have the program in place by Oct. 1.
Community ready for a fight
Macon County commissioners heard impassioned cries for help last week from families that have lost loved ones to addiction.
Drug use in Cherokee to come with a price
Possessing drugs on the Qualla Boundary will get a lot more expensive following a decision this month to ratchet up fines for anyone — enrolled and non-enrolled people alike — caught with illegal substances.
Drug testing in Haywood County schools: do results justify cost?
Some surprising statistics regarding drug testing in Haywood County schools have raised questions about the policy’s cost and effectiveness.
Officers add drug overdose antidote to their tool belt
Law enforcement officers in Haywood County are pulling double duty in the war on drugs: they’re saving lives as well as fighting crime.
Moving mountains: A rare bright spot in the relentless fight against prescription pill abuse
A life-saving antidote to reverse drug overdoses is finding widespread acceptance amid the prescription pain pill epidemic.
Cherokee implements full-circle rehabilitation for drug recovery
It’s been a while since the old Mountain Credit Union building in Cherokee saw foot traffic from people looking to deposit checks or get financial advice, but its doors still swing open and closed with regularity — though for a much different purpose.
Cherokee council vows to crack down on drug dealers
Drug addiction is perhaps the biggest crisis on the Qualla Boundary, and it’s time that tribal government got serious about punishing traffickers, members of Cherokee Tribal Council agreed last week.
Recovery rally aims to offer hope
It takes a village to combat a drug addiction or mental illness, and Richie Tannerhill is hoping to see a multitude of villages turn out when the inaugural Western Regional Rally for Recovery comes to Lake Junaluska Sept. 19.
A painful problem: Haywood teams up to fight prescription drug abuse
Recently recovered from rotator cuff surgery, Haywood County Sheriff Greg Christopher hasn’t popped a single prescription pain pill since the operation. Instead, he’s been using a combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, over-the-counter meds that don’t pose the same risks of abuse and addiction as opioids.
“Just this morning I was at the physical therapist,” he said in a May interview. “She said, ‘I cannot believe you didn’t take prescription meds.’ I said, ‘I didn’t need to.’”
