The Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen, in conjunction with the Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition, is hosting a Drug-Free Community Summit. Tullahoma citizens are urged to participate.  The free summit is Monday, February 9th from 11:45am to 1:30pm at the Thoma Lecture Hall at Tullahoma High School.  Lunch is provided but seating is limited so please RSVP to 247-2542 or kclark@ccantidrug.org.
The purpose of the Summit is to develop a community plan for the prevention of drug abuse in Tullahoma.  Keynote speaker is Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Douglas Varney.
Tullahoma Mayor Lane Curlee said, “Many Tullahoma families have been touched by the tremendous toll of drug abuse.  We, as a community, need to pull together and address this issue.
The Following are some alarming drug abuse statistics for Tennessee:

• Tennessee has the 8^th highest drug overdose mortality rate in the U.S.
• Approximately 8% of Tennesseans report use of illegal drugs in the past month
• People who are married, employed, and have at least a high school education are three times more likely to abuse prescription drugs than others
• There were over 500,000,000 Hydrocodone, Xanax and Oxycodone pills prescribed to Tennesseans in 2011, or an average of 94 pills per Tennessean over the age of 12.
• Unintentional drug overdose is the number one cause of death in Tennessee, over motor vehicle accidents, homicides or suicides.
• Unhealthy habits and obesity have a spinoff effect that breeds constant pain, which can cause additions to pain medications
• The annual impact on productivity in Tennessee businesses due to drug abuse is $193,000,000.
• 47,600 drug abuse arrests occurred in Tennessee in 2010.
• 221,000 Tennesseans have used pain relievers in the past year for non-medical purposes.
•          50% of youth taken into DCS custody are a result of parental drug abuse

Invited are concerned citizens and representatives from Tullahoma businesses, criminal justice, medical, education, civic clubs, non-profits, government, media, recovery and treatment, and faith-based.

Veterans in Tennessee and across the country will gain access to improved mental health services, with the legislation aimed at preventing suicide among former service members. Photo credit: Sgt. Gustavo Olgiati/U.S. Army/Flickr.

The U.S. Senate has approved legislation that seeks to prevent veteran suicide through early intervention, expanded treatment and peer support. The “Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act” has already won unanimous approval in the U.S. House, with lawmakers looking for ways to reduce the suicide rate. Nationally, some 8,000 vets take their own lives each year. In Tennessee, the figure is around 200 a year and growing, says the state’s executive director of suicide prevention Scott Ridgway. “It’s very important legislation be considered to help support efforts, not only in the nation, but also in statewide approaches and so forth,” says Ridgway. The bill’s namesake, Clay Hunt, was a Marine veteran who struggled with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and committed suicide in 2011 at the age of 28. Sponsor of the Act in the U.S. House is Minnesota Congressman Tim Walz. He says it would require a review of all Veterans Administration programs and practices, along with the creation of a centralized source of information on all of its mental health services for veterans. The legislation also seeks to increase capacity by addressing the shortage of mental health professionals. “Doing some student loan repayments for some commitments to work at the VA for a couple of years by some of these mental health professionals and the folks who look at this think it’s going to make a difference,” Walz says. “At least it’s a start.” Walz spent 24 years in the Army National Guard and is the highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress.