March 26, 2017 Holly Fletcher Joy Fanguy was so afraid of overdosing on pain pills that she kept a running log of how many she’d taken on her nightstand. Some nights, she scrawled a note in the event she didn’t wake to let her loved ones know her death was not a suicide. “I was always […]
Join Knoxville police chief at Tennessee opioid forum March 28
Last year 237 people died in Knox County of apparent drug overdoses. This year has started out just as bad with prospective overdose deaths happening about five times a week. Authorities are scrambling to find a solution. In 2015, Knoxville police started carrying Naloxone, which blocks the effects of the drugs on the respiratory and […]
Heroin use rising faster than any other drug in Tennessee
March 16, 2017 Julie Edwards NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Abuse of prescription opioids, like hydrocodone, has been widespread in Tennessee over the past ten years. While it continues be problem state-wide, officials have taken steps to curb the problem. “We’ve done a really good job in the state of Tennessee with our General Assembly and […]
Faces of Addiction: Dr. Stephen Loyd, Part II
We are pleased to have Dr. Stephen Loyd back today to share the rest of his story of addiction. Part II: There Is Hope My addiction started to have consequences. I had three car wrecks (two of those in my own driveway), and I was losing my family. I couldn’t stop using the pain pills. […]
Faces of Addiction: Dr. Stephen Loyd
We are pleased to have Stephen Loyd, M.D., as our guest today to share his story of addiction. Dr. Loyd, a native of Johnson City, Tenn., is the medical director of Substance Abuse Services for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Part I: Anyone Can Be An Addict No one I […]
How I became the unlikely face of addiction
Feb. 3, 2017 Dr. Stephen Loyd No one wakes up one day and makes a conscious decision to become a drug addict. I certainly didn’t. But about 15 years ago, I began taking hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin) pain pills. I’m sharing my story because there is something you can do as a measure of prevention. I’d […]
Count It! Lock It! Drop It! Lock Box Giveaway
As another way to help fight prescription drug misuse, we’re giving away lock boxes to five lucky Tennesseans! Interested in entering? Check out the rules below for more information. Contestants can enter the drawing up to five times by clicking the links below: a Rafflecopter giveaway The giveaway ends Feb. 17. Winners will be notified […]
Faces of Addiction, Part III: Tommie Arnold
When Tommie Arnold, from Smith County, Tenn., was prescribed Lortab and Xanax pills for back problems in 2006, she didn’t realize it would be the beginning of a 10-year battle with addiction. Shortly after her prescriptions ran out, Tommie began buying the pills off the streets. She would even steal from her friends and neighbors […]
Smith County Man featured in Count it, Lock it, Drop it Commercial
Smith County resident, James Adam Allmon, was recently featured in a commercial promoting the Count It! Drop It! Lock It! initiative. Allmon has been sober for two years and 22 days. He has also been featured in an article in the Tennessean. Allmon has partnered with the Smith County Drug Prevention Coalition to help spread awareness […]
$1.3M grant expands efforts of county anti-drug coalition
To fight a growing problem related to drug abuse, a local program has expanded its efforts statewide. After a $1.3 million grant from BlueCross Health Foundation last year, the Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition (CCADC) has expanded its Count It! Lock It! Drop It! program. The program, which focuses on fighting prescription drug abuse, began in […]