Health security

Law enforcement working to combat dangerous drug fentanyl

A dangerous drug that is killing people across the Tri-Cities region is also hard for law enforcement to combat.

Fentanyl is a powerful drug used legally to treat extreme pain, but it is now being made and sold on the illegal drug market. Illicit versions of fentanyl are up to 10,000 times more powerful than morphine and lethal in very small doses. The Tennessee Department of Health issued a health advisory on fentanyl earlier this year.

Dr. Clay Renfro lost his only son, Frederick Renfro, to a fentanyl overdose. “We knew there was some problem for several years but getting him to accept that he had a problem was the big issue.” Dr. Renfro said his son suffered from depression and kidney stones for most of his life and had to take medication which eventually led to the addiction.

According to the Tennessee Department of Health, from 2015-2016 the Volunteer State saw a 74 percent increase in drug overdose deaths related to fentanyl. In 2015, 169 Tennesseans died from fentanyl while 294 people died in 2016. The Virginia Department of Health reported a 176 percent increase in fatal fentanyl overdoses during that same time period. Reports show 225 Virginians died in 2015 and 622 died in 2016.