The Hamilton County Coalition and its local and federal partners collected more than 1,500 pounds of medication on National Prescription Take Back Day.
A 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration found 9.9 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs. The study showed a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.
This was the second of two events this year, with a combined 2,877 pounds of unused or expired medications collected in the Chattanooga area.
“The more we see cases of opioid dependency happening locally, the more importance we put on events like Drug Take Backs,” says Hamilton County Coalition Executive Director Camilla Bibbs-Lee.
“We’re mainly wanting to decrease the chance of prescription medications ending up in the wrong hands, and with the amount of medications we’ve been able to dispose of this year, I’m glad that more and more people are adopting that same mentality.”
Medications can be dropped off year-round at any of the permanent locations listed below:
- Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, 6040 Century Oak Dr.
- East Sector Hamilton County Sherriff’s Department, 8395 Hickory Valley Road
- Walgreen’s, 2289 Gunbarrel Road
- CVS, 5120 TN-153/ 5428 Hwy. 153, 1200 Dodson Ave
- Chattanooga Police Department, 3410 Amnicola Hwy
- Red Bank Police Department, 3117 Dayton Blvd
- East Ridge Police Department, 4214 Ringgold Road
- West Sector Hamilton County Sherriff’s Department, 6233 Dayton Blvd
- Signal Mountain Police Department, 1111 Ridgeway Ave