Count It! Lock It! Drop It! Expands to Fight Pill Abuse

Count It! Lock It! Drop It! (CLD), a comprehensive community program for prescription drug abuse prevention, has added 26 counties since its statewide launch last summer.

In June 2016, the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation approved a grant to fund the program’s expansion to areas identified as “hot spots,” which are counties with high numbers of prescriptions dispensed, overdose deaths and babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome.

The program, now offered in 58 counties, suggests three simple steps that anyone can practice to keep their medications out of the wrong hands:

» Count pills every two weeks to monitor theft and help ensure medications are taken

properly;

» Lock and store medications in a secure place where others would not think to look; and

» Dispose of unused or expired medications at drop boxes or during take-back events.

“Prescription drug misuse has reached epidemic levels in the state of Tennessee,” said Kristina Clark, CLD project manager. “Becoming a CLD community is an easy way for local law enforcement and anti-drug coalitions to encourage their residents to closely monitor their prescriptions, especially ones for opioids.”

East Tennessee counties that have recently joined the program include:

» Cocke County » Claiborne County » Cumberland County » Fentress County » Greene County » Hancock County » Loudon County » McMinn County » Polk County » Scott County » Sevier County » Union County In addition, CLD partnered with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to locate a drug disposal drop box in all 95 counties.

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