Columnists
April 18, 2023
Chief Chat
We must preserve telemedicine options to fight the opioid crisis
One of my most urgent priorities as Chief of the Cherokee Nation has been combatting the opioid epidemic. The opioid industry flooded Cherokee communities with these dangerous drugs. Overdose deaths more than doubled among Cherokee citizens between 2003 and 2014, and the fallout strained many of our tribal services, including clinics and emergency rooms, law enforcement and child welfare.