Drug abuse continues to stay prevalent within Tennessee, but steps are being taken to address the issue.
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services recently unveiled their Heroin Indicators Report Highlights for the month of March providing an up-to-date look at the successes and challenges on dealing with opioids and other prescription drugs.
Positives noted from the report indicated that the number of prescriptions and quantity of opioids prescribed are decreasing. However, the report also noted that opioid crimes, especially heroin crimes, are on the rise. Injection drug use is also on the rise while most drug overdose deaths are opioid-related, especially opioids in combination with benzodiazepines.
The impacts from the report stated that opioid abuse is highest in rural counties and small towns while heroin abuse is spreading from urban to suburban areas.
Heroin poisoning hospitalizing are increasing while opioid poisoning hospitalizing have dropped slightly since 2011.
Along with adults, the report added that over 1,000 babies experienced withdrawal from drug exposure prior to birth in 2014 and 2015.
Eliminating the stigma of addiction and drug abuse is the mission of Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville), who formed a seven-person legislative task force to tackle the issue of opioids and prescription drug abuse. Since their creation in January, the task force has diligently worked at proposing different types of legislation to help and most recently visited East Tennessee State University for a special discussion with local leaders and schools officials about what steps are being made locally with drug abuse.
Northeast Tennessee is a topic of concern when looking at preventable means. The impacts from the report stated that opioid abuse is highest in rural counties and small towns while heroin abuse is spreading from urban to suburban areas.
To assist with local drug abuse issues, Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition Director Jilian Reece stated the organization has been excited to implement different programs help tackle the problem.
“We’ve been able to implement the “Count It, Lock It, Drop It” program which has been a success,” Reece said. The program is geared to encourage citizens to keep their prescriptions pills shut and locked away. A drop box for unused pills is available at the Elizabethton Police Department, Reece added, as a way to properly dispose of excessive medication.
Another initiative stressed by the department is Naloxone training, which the director added is valuable to help battle opioid overdoses in the county. She thanked the EPD and emergency responders for partnering together to disperse the medication in needed situations.
“If anybody is in need of Naloxone, our local pharmacies carry it,” she said. “It’s a live-saving and a very important tool.”
During Tuesday’s discussion at ETSU with the state task force, Angela Hagaman, NIDA-DIDARP program director for the College of Health and operations director for the Center for Prescription Drug Abuse and Treatment, discussed different programs, like those in Carter County, going on to help with drug abuse.
Reece, who was on a training trip with other coalition leaders in Nashville Thursday, commended the effort of the state of making a push to end the epidemic.
“We’re so grateful for the state’s assistance in this issue,” she said.
While Carter County numbers haven’t trended upward as quickly as other counties, the county did see a high amount of unique cases of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS).
While the numbers across the state remained stable, throughout 2013-15 Carter County saw a 40.1 – 77.8 percent of cases per 1K births of children experiencing unique cases of NAS.
“Dr. Cynthia Thomas, with the regional health office, has done tremendous work to address the problem,” Reece said. “Our local health departments have been looking at implementing programs to help address NAS. One program is working with our local jails and with mothers that are interacted for drug-related issues.”
As the county progresses in tackling preventable measures, Reece added she was excited about the coming year. The CCDP was able to receive second-year funding through the state do to its steady progression of work.
“We’re very excited about having another year of funding,” she said. “There’s so many different programs we’re looking at, including working together with faith-based organizations.”
Reece, who helped spearheaded the tobacco cessation programs at the Carter County Health Department with Allison Foster, added she’s hoping to see more community involvement as the CCDP progresses through the new year. The organization is looking at implementing a youth drug and tobacco prevention task force to garner interest from the youth.
“We invite anyone from the community that wants to help address these problems to take part in our board,” Reece said.
To learn more about CCDP or how to get involved, visit the Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition Facebook page online or call Reece at (423) 342-8008.
The state is also encouraging individuals that are battling with addiction to seek help by calling the Tennessee REDLINE at 1-800-889-9789.