Tennessee overdose deaths jump 12% in 2016, as opioid crisis rages

The Tennessean: The number of Tennesseans who died from drug overdoses jumped 12 percent from 2015 to 2016, largely due to growing use of dangerous synthetic opioids.

There were at least 1,631 Tennesseans who died in 2016 — up from 1,451 in 2015, according to new figures from the Tennessee Department of Health. However, the number of deaths is likely higher due to inconsistencies in how counties investigate and report deaths.

Deaths from fentanyl, synthetic opioids, increased from 169 in 2015 to 294 in 2016, according to state data.

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