The opioid crisis has been an ongoing issue nationwide for some time. Greenville County is no exception to that. Sheriff Hobart Lewis says that opioid related deaths in the county have risen from around 90 in 2019 to over 150 in 2021.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Lewis held a press conference to announce the partnership of his office and the Phoenix Center to set up a new treatment facility for opioid users. The facility will be located at Greenville's Piney Mountain Park and will be staffed by addiction counselors with the Phoenix Center.
Lewis spoke with me after the press conference about a number of related topics. We talked about how this will allow his deputies to focus more on working the streets and less about treating users. Lewis also talked about the county's growing issue with Fentanyl. All that and more can be heard in the interview below.