Combating the Opioid Crisis in Tennessee With Count It! Lock It! Drop It!

JOELTON, Tenn. (WKRN) – The Drug Enforcement Agency National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day was held Saturday in Middle Tennessee and around the country.

Locally, Count It! Lock It! Drop It! sites were held in various locations where people could drop off old or unused prescription medications.

The Sumner County Sheriff’s department collected 472 pounds of old pills and medicines to be properly destroyed.

Metro Police took in 49 pounds at the Walgreens on Clarksville Pike, alone.

Police in Spring Hill, Fairview, Humphreys County, and the Williamson County Anti-Drug Coalition were also collecting.

And so far the Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition has collected 326 pounds of pure pills, including 5,407 controlled substances such as hydrocodone, oxy, anxiety meds and sleeping pills. More than 160 people showed up at 8 locations to get rid of these dangerous medications.

The event, which began in Coffee County after it was discovered that a large number of teenagers were getting drugs from the medicine cabinet at home, is designed to help protect loved ones and fight Tennessee’s opioid epidemic.

People were encouraged to bring their left over prescription drugs to a safe location where they were counted and disposed of properly.

There are some permanent drop off locations, but they did a big push on Saturday with multiple sites.

There was no immediate word on how much was collected across Middle Tennessee.

http://wkrn.com/2017/10/28/combating-the-opioid-crisis-in-tennessee-with-count-it-lock-it-drop-it/