In the past few years, as street drug makers increasingly cut fentanyl into other drugs like cocaine, there’s been a rise in drug overdoses among people who aren’t addicted to opioids.

Nashville, Tennessee, has seen overdoses rise among tourists in particular. The city has worked to get overdose reversal drugs into downtown bars and music venues, but some businesses have been slow on the uptake. 

One of the first to join the effort was ACME Feed and Seed. It’s a hotspot for both locals and tourists within the entertainment district in Nashville. Named for the old farm supply store that used to occupy the space, the venue fills up for live music performances. 

Lauren Morales is a co-owner, and now that her dad is retiring, she’ll be the CEO of the venue’s parent company. 

“My parents started in 1986 here in Nashville,” she said. “I started pouring teas and lemonades and now I'm running the company.” 

Morales has seen Nashville change, from a small town for aspiring musicians to a destination for bachelorette parties and boys’ weekends. 

And now, it’s also a hotspot for opioid overdoses.  

“Obviously there is a link between partying and having fun and the potential for a mistake,” she said. “When we saw there was a way that we could safely participate in the solution, I mean, immediately we wanted to.” 

Sergeant Mike Hotz oversees the police department’s opioid unit. And he says the people overdosing in the district typically aren’t addicted to opioids.  

“There are unscrupulous drug dealers selling powdered substances on the street, and posing them as cocaine or other stimulants,” he said. “Through laboratory analysis, we find that it contains little to no cocaine and large concentrations of the significant opioid depressant fentanyl.”

The city partnered with the charity arm of Gibson Guitars, which provided about $1 million in overdose reversal drugs. They worked to get the kits into downtown honkytonks, music venues and restaurants. But it was a slow start at first.

“I’m not joking — I had zero percent success,” Hotz said. 

Business owners said they were afraid of getting sued for giving patrons a medication if something went wrong.  

The city’s nightlife office helped convince businesses that having Narcan on site is the right move. They city’s nightlife director, Benton McDonough, said Nashville’s reputation as a safe destination is important. 

“A lot of our revenue comes in from visitors and allows us to provide a lot of services that otherwise we would not be able to provide,” he said. 

Now, he says, there are nearly 100 overdose kits available in the entertainment district. And about a dozen have been deployed to help save lives.