Tennessee was ranked the second most violent state in the United States per 100,000 people in 2007. Using drugs can cause organs to shut down which can lead to expensive surgeries.

With eight surrounding states, Tennessee has become a drug transporter’s dream and a policeman’s nightmare. The major highways and interstates connect the four largest cities (Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga) to the surrounding states, providing ample opportunity for drug dealers to move into the area and sell their product.

This does not bode well for the population’s health and welfare. If only drugs were being imported, the situation might not be so dire, but with drugs come poverty, disease, violence, malnourishment, and drug addiction. When drugs and addiction infect communities, a declining and oppressed state of health can be expected. No culture has grown under the scourge of drugs, other than a culture of violence.

Tennessee drug treatment centers have become crucial to the health of the state’s population. Without treatment centers and hospitals, there is no place for the poor to turn when they need help. When the poor and the addicted are trapped in the inner cities and unable to combat a cycle of drug use and poverty, drug treatment centers can offer viable support.

Many churches and religious organizations open their doors to support the local community, but when a medical situation arises, medical facilities are needed. Extensive medical solutions are needed to provide assistance for drug-related and poverty-related health conditions. The accompanying psychiatric conditions often require even more attention and counseling than simple medical treatment.

If families are to survive in the metropolitan areas of Tennessee, drug treatment facilities need to be placed at the forefront of government programs, followed closely by incentives to encourage entrepreneurship and business development that will, in turn, create tax revenues for successful programs.