Tennessee Governor Unveils Plan to Tackle Prescription Drug Abuse

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam this week announced a plan designed to stop prescription drug abuse in the state, WCYB reports.

More than 200,000 people in Tennessee have used prescription opioids in the past year for non-medical purposes, according to the state’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. About 69,000 are addicted to opioids, the article notes.

The governor’s plan, called “Prescription for Success,” has several overall goals, including decreasing the number of people who abuse and overdose on controlled substances; decreasing the amount of controlled substances dispensed in the state; increasing access to drug disposal outlets; increasing access and quality of early intervention, treatment and recovery services; and expanding collaboration and coordination among state agencies and with other states.

“Tennessee has a serious problem with prescription drug abuse, and this widespread and complex issue demands coordinated solutions,” Governor Haslam said in a news release. “‘Prescription for Success’ is a comprehensive, multi-year strategic plan that will involve different agencies across state government to reduce the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs so Tennesseans can live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.”

The plan lists many specific goals, including enacting a Good Samaritan Law, revising pain clinic rules, developing guidelines for the destruction of pharmaceuticals from local Take-Back events, expanding the use of SBIRT (screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment) in Tennessee, developing additional Recovery Courts throughout the state, and providing additional specialized treatment options for mothers with opioid addiction whose babies have been born with neonatal abstinence syndrome or who are at risk of losing their children.