Opioid abuse is a nationwide epidemic, and Tennessee is one of the top states for overdose deaths. Count It! Drop It! Lock It!™ (CLD) is focused on educating Tennesseans on what they can do to help stop abusers from having easy access to opioids. CLD encourages all Tennesseans to count their pills, store them in a secure location and take unused pills to a drop box.

Where are abusers getting their pills?

According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 70 percent of people who abuse opioids get them from friends and family. The rest are prescribed by a doctor (17.3%), bought from a drug dealer (4.8%) or taken from another source (7.1%).

Christina Merino is the executive director of the Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition and a co-founder of Count It! Drop It! Lock It!™ .