More people are getting prescriptions for pain medication in the Volunteer State. 

The state department of health released that in a report to the general assembly.

It shows pharmacists dispensed nearly 18.3 million prescriptions in Tennessee last year for controlled substances like Oxycontin and hydrocodone.  That's a nearly 1.5 percent increase in painkiller prescriptions from the year before. The previous year showed a 23 percent increase.

Tennessee has one of the highest prescription drug abuse rates in the nation.