At an emotional news conference from the desk of her office, Barry thanked Nashvillians for their outpouring of support, which she said provided a "counter-balance" to her grief after the death of her 22-year-old son on July 29.
She also addressed Max's past drug use, saying he had "occasional brushes" with drugs that prompted him last summer to enroll himself in a drug rehabilitation facility in Florida for a month.
"I don't want his death to define his life, but we have to have a frank conversation about how he died," said Barry, who last week temporarily stepped aside from work after Max's death. "We don't have the full autopsy yet, we don't have the final toxicology report, but the reality is that Max overdosed on drugs.
"I don't know exactly what the combination of drugs was, but I do know and we all know that that's what caused him to die."
