KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — According to the Knox County District Attorney, there have been nearly 2,000 overdoses in Knox County in the past three years. It's a number that has been on the rise every year since the early 2000s.
The Metro Drug Coalition is an agency that is on the front lines of the issue, trying to help those who are addicted to drugs.
"It's sad, it's heartbreaking, we have a real problem," Brandon Styles, the regional overdose specialist for Knox County, said.
East Tennessee has the highest number of drug overdoses in Tennessee. Metro Drug said that an increase in new drugs has caused a spike in recent years.
"Recently we've seen a major spike in different forms of fentanyl and xylazine," Styles said. "It's a tranquilizer that doesn't fit into the opioid or stimulant qualification. It's new and hard to keep a track of."
Metro Drug said they've been seeing an increase in teenagers getting addicted to drugs in Knox County.
"It's important to let the youth know that it quickly becomes a lifestyle, what once is used as something to numb a feeling, starts being used every day," Styles said.
Metro Drug said they have seen the most success in reducing the number of OD deaths by first trying to reshape the way we think of drug addiction and then, by being present in the areas of the highest use of drugs.
"Meeting people where they're at, educating people what's going on and reducing the stigma around drug abuse," Styles said. "So, people who need the help, get the help."