MORRISTOWN, Tenn. - The Hamblen County Jail has been described as a dangerously overcrowded "cesspool of a dungeon," with inmates sleeping on mats in the hallways, lawyers forced to meet their clients in a supply closet and the people inside subjected to "horrible conditions" every day.

And that's the county sheriff talking.

Jail populations used to be concentrated in big cities. But since 2013, the number of people locked up in rural, conservative counties such as Hamblen has skyrocketed, driven by the nation's drug crisis.

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Because the crime took place within 1,000 feet of a school, state law mandated a longer sentence, one that the council members noted "was more severe than the sentence he would have received for committing a violent crime such as rape or second-degree murder."

Twelve Metro Council members have signed a letter urging a criminal court judge to give relief to a Nashville man serving a 17-year sentence on a nonviolent drug conviction.

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As Tennessee lawmakers begin discussions about possibly allowing medical marijuana in Tennessee, the top-tier candidates seeking to replace Gov. Bill Haslam have vastly different opinions.

While legalizing medical marijuana in Tennessee has been brought up in the legislature several times in recent years, House Speaker Beth Harwell, who announced her run for governor in July, made headlines when she said she was open to the idea.

Last month, Harwell said a treatment using marijuana for her sister's back injury caused her to reconsider whether the Volunteer State should embrace medical cannabis, the Associated Press reported.

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Educating lawmakers and the general public will be a key component of the recently formed legislative committee tasked with tackling medical marijuana, according to one of the legislators heading up the panel.

"I think one of the goals is to make sure that the people and the advocates and the patients are aware of what we're doing and make sure that they give feedback to their elected officials," said Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville, who along with Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, are heading up a legislative committee to study the issue.

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I was truly amazed when I heard that Beth Harwell, erstwhile gubernatorial candidate and reefer madness maven, said she was "open" to medicinal cannabis here in Tennessee.

This is a major reversal of policy for Ms. Harwell.

What changed her mind? She says her sister's positive experience with state legal medicinal cannabis products in Colorado while recovering from a broken back made her rethink the issue.

Thousands of Tennesseans have, for years now, been asking Ms. Harwell and her fellow Republicans for a medical cannabis program, as can be found in 29 other states so far, to treat illnesses such as my wife's multiple sclerosis. For years now, our pleas have fallen on deaf Republican ears.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The treatment of her sister's back injury has caused Republican gubernatorial candidate Beth Harwell to reevaluate Tennessee's ban on medical marijuana.

Harwell, who is speaker of the state House of Representatives, told a Republican gathering earlier this month that allowing medical marijuana has come up as part of a discussion about how to tackle the state's opioid crisis.

The longtime Nashville representative said her sister was recently prescribed opioids after breaking her back.

"She was in a yoga class and came down out of a shoulder stand the wrong way," Harwell said. "And she was, of course, in a great deal of pain."

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The rate of hospitalizations for Tennesseans 65 years and older due to painkillers has more than tripled in a decade.

Older adults are being hospitalized for reasons that range from falls and auto accidents after taking pain pills to unintentional overdoses, interactions with other medications and weakened kidney or liver functions in aging bodies that fail to metabolize the drug in the same way as younger people.

Experts say physicians and family members are more likely to overlook addiction in senior citizens -- even after opioids require a trip to the hospital.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A state lawmaker said he will propose legislation in January to tighten laws governing bounty hunters and bonding agents in the wake of a fatal shooting in Clarksville.

On Wednesday, Rep. Joe Pitts held a meeting with representatives from the Tennessee Sheriff's Association, Tennessee Association of Professional Bail Agents, Clarksville Police Chief Al Ansley and Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson, among others.

Pitts said the meeting was sparked by a series of articles by The Leaf-Chronicle that examined laws pertaining to bounty hunters and bonding agents. In some cases, the laws are unclear. In others, the laws are simply being ignored.

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Authorities on Wednesday closed a West Knoxville apartment that the Knox County District Attorney General's Office called "a modern-day opium den."

Apartment 3 at 2818 Dayton St. has been the scene of several overdoses - -- one resulting in death -- over the past five months, according to a statement from the District Attorney General's Office.

In the fatal overdose, police believe one of the apartment's residents, Cassandra Deann Canupp, supplied the victim with drugs, according to the statement. The victim died of fentanyl and cocaine intoxication.

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The Knoxville Police Department is seeking a federal grant to bring a research-based approach to countering opioid abuse.

Judy Jenkins keeps her medication in a bucket stored in a pantry instead of the medicine cabinet.(Photo: Lacy Atkins / The Tennessean)

The Knoxville Police Department is seeking a federal grant to bring a research-based approach to countering one of the city's and the Tennessee's fastest-growing epidemics - opioid abuse.

City Council members are set to vote on a resolution Tuesday night that, if approved, would give KPD permission to apply for a 2017 Smart Policing Initiative grant worth up to $700,000 over three years.

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Federal officials have said they want to work with Tennessee to curb the opioid epidemic.(Photo: Getty Images / iStockphoto)

If you're looking for a safe way to dispose of prescription drugs, head over to the Brentwood Municipal Center on April 30.

The Brentwood Police Department will participate in the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Residents can drop off prescription drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day was established to provide a safe, convenient and responsible way of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the public about the potential for abuse of medications. Brentwood police officers will be on hand at the Brentwood Municipal Center during the event.

According to the DEA, prescription drug abuse in the U.S. is at "alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to those drugs."

For more information visit https://brentwood-tn.org.

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Mt. Juliet Police conducted a search warrant Tuesday afternoon as part of a heroin and methamphetamine investigation that closed Old Lebanon Dirt Road near Nighthawk Lane.

The search warrant included explosions that police described as "flashbangs," which were deployed as distractions because of information the individuals inside may have been armed, Mt. Juliet Police Lt. Tyler Chandler said.

"So, using distraction methods, helps minimize risk for the Special Response Team members making entry," Chandler said.

Old Lebanon Dirt Road between Nighthawk Lane and Eagle Trace Drive was closed for a period of time before being reopened.

The Tennessean will provide additional information as details become available.

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"Prevention is preferable to cure." These words are part of the modern Hippocratic Oath, which guide my work and the work of my fellow physicians across our state. Today we are facing a crisis that demands a preventive solution: prescription painkiller abuse.

The stakes are real -- I've heard too many heart-wrenching tales of lives lost and families torn apart. We know many of these addicts never intended to be drug abusers, but began with a real need to treat pain from injuries or other medical conditions.

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Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, left, talks with US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack and audience members during a town hall meeting on how to deal with the opioid addiction in Appalachia on Thursday, June 30, 2016 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center on in Abingdon, VA. (SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL)

Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture talks about opioid addiction during a town hall meeting with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center on Thursday, June 30, 2016 in Abingdon, VA.(SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL)

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Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan speaks as the Regional Forensic Center released its 2010-2015 Drug-related Death Report for Knox And Anderson Counties Monday, August 15, 2016 in the small assembly room at the City-County Building. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)

Dr. Amy Hawes, assistant medical examiner, explains a portion of the Regional Forensic Center's 2010-2015 Drug-related Death Report for Knox And Anderson Counties on Monday, Aug. 15, 2016, in the Small Assembly Room at the City County Building. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)

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Tennessee looks at making naloxone, an easy-to-administer drug that can reverse the effects of opioid drug overdoses, widely available without a prescription. But will over-reliance on the medication be a long-term side effect?

[photo] Thomas Clemons instructs people visiting a Baltimore needle exchange van on how to use naloxone to reverse heroin overdoses. More and more states, including Tennessee, are looking at the easy-to-administer drug as a way to stem increasing opioid overdose deaths.(Photo: Amy Davis/File)

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NASHVILLE - Medical marijuana will again become a topic of discussion and legislation during the 2017 legislative session.

An announcement from the House Republican Caucus on Friday said an official announcement will come next week from state Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, and Sen. Steve Dickerson, RNashville, who are planning to introduce legislation about medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana has been a popular discussion within the legislature in recent years, and support from both parties has been steadily growing. Details about the legislation were not immediately clear.

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NASHVILLE - Willie Nelson's famous habit of smoking marijuana is not seen as a badge of outlaw courage here anymore, so much as the frivolous foible of an eccentric uncle. A popular FM station disgorging the Boomer rock hits of yesteryear calls itself Hippie Radio 94.5; one of its sponsors is a smoke shop that incessantly hawks glass pipes and detox kits. Even mainstream country acts mention smoking marijuana now and again among the litany of acceptable American pastimes.

So perhaps it is not surprising as much as telling that this city, which residents often refer to as the Buckle of the Bible Belt, may be on the cusp of joining the long roster of American cities, including New York, that have decriminalized the stuff.

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"Your libertarian streak is showing."

That's what one of my friends said earlier this week when I told him what I planned on writing about today. Well, sure, I may harbor libertarian sentiments, but it seems lately that folks at multiple points across the political spectrum are willing to consider a recalibration of existing marijuana laws.

The days of fearing "reefer madness" are waning. Yes, even in Tennessee.

Playing the role of bellwether on this opinion shift is the Nashville Metro Council, which voted 32-4 on Tuesday to move a marijuana decriminalization bill forward. Now it heads to committee phase, where its nuances will be discussed more thoroughly for further votes.

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Everyone seems suddenly concerned about drug use and drug addiction. After years of losing the "War on Drugs," many are trying new approaches. An example is the police chief who has set up a voluntary program whereby users and addicts can hand in their drugs and agree to submit to treatment. No criminal charges are made. The humanity of the program is captured in the insistence the word "junkie" will never be used.

So what's going on with the chief and his program? Obviously he has plenty of firsthand contact with countless users/addicts. He knows real progress is not in a jail cell but in medical and or psychiatric treatment.

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