June 14, 2018 Courtney Tipper According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an alarming 40 percent of opioid misusers have admitted to receiving painkillers from a friend or family member at no cost. Another 12 percent admit to purchasing or stealing prescription drugs from someone they know. Dramatically reducing this “pass […]
BlueCross anti-opioid abuse campaign wins prestigious award
June 7, 2018 Staff report, The Tennessean A Tennessee campaign to combat the spread of opioid abuse by promoting the proper disposal of unneeded and expired pills has won a prestigious public relations award. The “Don’t Be An Accidental Drug Dealer” campaign, which was spearheaded by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and MP&F Strategic Communications, was […]
Tennesseans Drop Off More Than 10 Tons of Pills During Spring Take-Back Event
Tennessee collected an impressive 20,590 pounds of prescription drugs during the DEA’s 15th annual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 28. For Count It! Lock It! Drop It! those statistics continue to indicate that its efforts are paying off. CLD is a community program for prescription drug misuse that works to raise awareness about […]
The Face of Opioid Addiction – Lori’s Story
Lori Johnson lost her daughter, Felicia, to an opioid overdose at age 23. Felicia stole medicine from her parents, friends and neighbors until her life spiraled out of control. Three years ago, Felicia had a fatal overdose at a friend’s house shortly before she was to headed rehab, leaving behind her family and her baby […]
Opinion | Continue collective fight against opioid misuse and abuse
February 24, 2018 Natalie Tate Tennessee’s opioids crisis is nearly unprecedented – but unfortunately, it isn’t new. We saw it on the horizon in the upper east region of the state years ago, where an increasing number of babies were being born dependent on prescription pain medication. We knew we had to take action, and […]
Erik Blom: Faces of Addiction
Erik Blom’s addiction began in seventh grade when he was bullied in school for being sensitive. Determined to never be picked on again, he began hanging out with a tougher group of friends. Pills were the choice with Erik and his friends because of how easily accessible they were. They would steal pills from their […]
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day Is Oct. 28
Do you have unused or expired prescriptions in your home? Keep them out of the wrong hands by attending a National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day event. On Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017, Tennesseans will have the opportunity to dispose of their unused or expired prescriptions at one of more than 100 locations across the state. This […]
How One Artist Fought Addiction With Music
Opioid addiction affects people of all ages and backgrounds. Music artist Tin Tenn’s addiction started when he was just 13 years old. The Memphis, Tenn., native had several ways of feeding his addiction. At first, he was prescribed pain medication from doctors. He later moved on to stealing from his mother’s medicine cabinet, as well […]
Student Athletes and the Dangers of Opioids
A survey conducted by the Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse found that high school athletes are some of the most at-risk for getting addicted to prescription pain medication. It starts innocently enough – a student athlete sustains an injury and is prescribed some form of pain medication, such as hydrocodone or OxyContin, to […]
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day by the Numbers
On Saturday, April 19, Tennesseans did their part to prevent prescription drug misuse by dropping off their expired and unwanted prescription pills at take-back events across the state. If you attended a take-back event on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, you might be wondering how many pounds of pills were collected. The Tennessean recently released […]
