Syringe Exchange
Syringe Exchanges in TN (credit: Daniel Garrett of Northwest Tennessee Harm Reduction)
Drug Disposal
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) people who abuse prescription painkillers most frequently get them for free from a friend or relative and many buy them from a friend or relative. It is critically important to properly dispose of any and all unused medications in order to prevent them from being misused or accidentally consumed by a small child.
Medicines play an important role in treating many conditions and diseases and when they are no longer needed it is important to dispose of them properly to help reduce harm from accidental exposure or intentional misuse. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends you dispose of expired, unwanted, or unused medicines is through authorized collection sites like the Elizabethton Police Department or semi-annual local take-back events.
Count it! Lock it! Drop it!
Prescription drug misuse is a prevalent and often fatal problem among youth and adults throughout Tennessee. Sixty-four percent of Tennesseans know someone who has become addicted to prescription pain medication. Despite this alarming number, many individuals still think prescription medication addiction and misuse is a bigger risk for “other people,” and not their households.
When individuals do not properly use or store prescription medications, it creates an opportunity for drug misuse by Tennesseans of all ages.
For more information, click here.
Learn more about safe medicine disposal.
DropBox Locations:
Carter County TN Sheriff’s Office
Walgreens
https://www.walgreens.com/topic/pharmacy/safe-medication-disposal.jsp
Elizabethton Police Department
http://www.elizabethton.org/departments/disposal_drop_box.php
Contact us for free https://disposerx.com packets.
Special thanks to DisposeRx for providing us with these packets!
Narcan
Drug overdose deaths have tripled in Tennessee since 1999 and are now the leading cause of injury deaths in the state. Drug overdose deaths surpassed motor vehicle-related deaths for the first time in 2009 and continue to increase.
Risk factors for opioid overdose:
- Prior overdose
- Reduced tolerance – Previous users who have stopped using due to abstinence, illness, treatment, or incarceration
- Drug combinations – mixing opioids with other drugs, including alcohol, stimulants or depressants
- Unsupervised use – using alone
- Variations in strength/quantity or changing formulations
Naloxone (Narcan), the Opioid Rescue Drug
On July 1, 2017, the Sullivan County Anti Drug Coalition received a new grant from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to provide training and Narcan to NE TN first responders, law enforcement, community organizations, family members and friends of individuals at risk of an opioid overdose. Please contact Sherry Barnett (423-956-6529) to be trained and to find out how to receive a Narcan kit.
PEEL
Peel back the package to remove the device. Hold the device with your thumb on the bottom of the plunger and 2 fingers on the nozzle.
PLACE
Place and hold the tip of the nozzle in either nostril until your fingers touch the bottom of the patient’s nose.
PRESS
Press the plunger firmly to release the dose into the patient’s nose.
How to Give Nasal Spray Naloxone Instructions
- Peel back the package to remove the device. Hold the device with your thumb on the bottom of the plunger and 2 fingers on the nozzle.
- Place and hold the tip of the nozzle in either nostril until your fingers touch the bottom of the patient’s nose.
- Press the plunger firmly to release the dose into the patient’s nose.