This photo provided by the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority shows Dr. Joel Smithers, who is facing the possibility of life in prison after being convicted in May of more than 800 counts of illegally prescribing drugs, including oxycodone and oxymorphone.

Virginia doctor facing life in prison for thousands of opioid doses

By the time agents swooped into his small medical office in 2017, Dr. Joel Smithers had prescribed about a half a million doses of opioids in two years.

Sep 29, 2019 at 5:12 AM

Marty Olsen's campaign for Congress

Olsen: 'I have taken a no Pelosi pledge, and I took it a year ago'

Olsen, a Johnson City physician, is up against incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Phil Roe in a Northeast Tennessee district that hasn’t elected a Democrat since Reconstruction.

Oct 24, 2018 at 5:30 PM

Federal court

Morristown physician, wife sentenced in opioid prescription scheme

Prosecutors say that from January 2012 to September 2016, Mohamed and Manacsa scheduled far more patients per day than could be attended to. On average, they scheduled between 40 and 60 patients per day during the estimated six-hour period when Mohamed worked.

Mar 16, 2018 at 7:30 PM

The Scott County Board of Supervisors voted last week to join a class action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

opioid lawsuit

Scott County supervisors vote to join opioid lawsuit

Scott County has joined a growing list of counties in the region that are fighting a legal battle against opioid abuse. Board members unanimously voted to join a class action lawsuit against opioid distributors and manufacturers, hoping to recover some of the costs they’ve incurred from the opioid epidemic.

Feb 13, 2018 at 6:00 PM

In this photo, New Vision Youth students march during Red Ribbon Week, which raises awareness for drug prevention.

Sullivan County

Local coalition aims to stop drug problem before it begins

The Sullivan County Anti-Drug Coalition is a community of people working to assess the substance abuse problem and eliminate it via education, advocacy and other programs.

Jan 1, 2018 at 2:00 PM

Grant

Warner, Kaine announce over $300K to help rural Southwest Virginia fight opioid epidemic

The funds will support health education initiatives spearheaded by the Virginia Cooperative Extension. These initiatives are aimed at preventing opioid abuse in vulnerable communities in rural Southwest Virginia.

Nov 24, 2017 at 12:00 PM

Opioid Epidemic

Community leaders calling for churches to help address opioid epidemic

To help build the alliance between clinicians, educators and the church, community and faith leaders gathered at Northeast State Community College on Tuesday to announce the Holy Friendship Summit, a two-day event that will create a long-term vision for beating the opioid crisis.

Nov 14, 2017 at 5:30 PM

Opioid crisis

Money to fight opioid crisis coming to SW Virginia

"We've been working pretty hard to address the opioid crisis in Southwest Virginia," Delegate Terry Kilgore said. "We are hopeful and have been working to get some of those dollars to community service boards in Southwest Virginia."

May 27, 2017 at 7:00 PM