National Prescription Drug Take-Back day set for October 26th at Walgreens

Nashville, TN – To help reduce the number of teens and adults who are abusing prescription medicine, National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day – when thousands of pounds of unused and potentially addictive medications and other substances are removed from homes around the United States – will be held on Saturday, October 26th.

The event is held twice each year and helps raise awareness of the permanent prescription-drug-disposal boxes that have been established around the nation. Currently, there are 82 permanent prescription drug disposal boxes located at law enforcement facilities in 47 counties across Tennessee. Law enforcement professionals highly recommend the use of these permanent boxes throughout the year to reduce the possibility of theft and accidental overdose. For a list of the permanent locations, visit the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) website at tn.gov/mental or http://www.tn.gov/mental/publications/Permanent%20Drug%20Take-Back%20Boxes.pdf.

“The importance of removing unused medications from homes cannot be over-emphasized,” says TDMHSAS Commissioner E. Douglas Varney. “More than 1,000 Tennesseans die yearly from drug overdoses, and many of them could be prevented if prescription medication was disposed of properly.”

Organizers estimate that more than 6,000 pounds of medication will be collected during National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day events around Tennessee.

Most National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day events will take place from 10:00am to 2:00pm nationally, but times may vary at individual sites. Along with the permanent locations, a number of special take-back locations will be set up around Tennessee. They are:

·         Arlington: Kroger Food Store, 11635 Highway 70

·         Athens: Athens Police Department, 815 N. Jackson St.

·         Atoka: Atoka Police Department, 334 Atoka-Munford Ave.

·         Bean Station: Town Hall/Bean Station Police Department, 785 Main St.

·         Blountville: Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, 140 Blountville Bypass

·         Bristol: Municipal Parking Lot, 801 Anderson St.

·         Brownsville: Brownsville Police Department, 118 N. Lafayette St.

·         Carthage: Chamber of Commerce Building, 939 Upper Ferry Road

·         Chattanooga: The East Chattanooga Improvement, 1502 McCallie Ave.

·         Chattanooga: CVS Pharmacy, 4700 Highway 58

·         Chattanooga: Brainerd Village, 5896 Brainerd Road

·         Chattanooga: Bi-Lo Pharmacy, 3901 Dayton Blvd.

·         Chattanooga: Blood Assurance, 705 E. 4th St.

·         Church Hill: Food City, 731 Highway 11 W.

·         Clarksville: Walgreens Pharmacy, 1954 Madison St.

·         Cleveland: CVS, 200 Stuart Road NE

·         Cleveland: Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, 2290 Blythe Ave. SE

·         Clinton: Food City, 507 S. Charles G. Seivers Blvd.

·         Columbia: Columbia Mall, 800 South James Campbell Blvd.

·         Cordova: Kroger, 676 N. Germantown Pkwy.

·         Covington: Criminal Justice Complex, 1801 S. College Street, Suite 106

·         Crossville: Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department, 90 Justice Center Drive

·         Dandridge: Jeffco Drug Center, 127 W. Meeting

·         Dayton: Walmart, Highway 27

·         Dickson: Dickson County Fairgrounds, 1053 Highway 47 East

·         Dunlap: Cotes Street Pharmacy, 402 Rakin Avenue

·         Dyersburg: Dyer County Jail lobby, 401 E. Cedar Street

·         Dyersburg: Dyersburg Mall, 2700 Lake Road

·         Elizabethton: Elizabethton-Carter Chamber of Commerce, 500 Veterans Memorial Parkway (Highway 19 East)

·         Fayetteville: Lincoln County High School, 1233 Huntsville Highway

·         Gallatin: Walgreens, 914 Green Lea Blvd.

·         Gallatin: Sumner County Sheriff’s Office, 117 W. Smith St.

·         Gallatin: Walgreens, 585 Nashville Pike

·         Germantown: Target, 9235 Poplar Ave.

·         Germantown: Kroger, 2130 Exeter Road

·         Goodlettsville, Walgreens, 455 Long Hollow Pike

·         Greeneville: Greeneville Water Commission, 516 N. Main St.

·         Hendersonville: Walgreens, 198 E. Main St.

·         Hendersonville: Walgreens, 365 New Shackle Island

·         Johnson City: Johnson City Police Department, 601 E. Main St.

·         Knoxville: CVS, 200 Broadway

·         Knoxville: Long’s Drug Store, 4604 Old Kingston Pike

·         Knoxville: CVS, 5511 Kingston Pike Northwest

·         Knoxville: Krutch Park Extension, 500 S. Gay St.

·         La Vergne: La Vergne City Hall, 5093 Murfreesboro Road

·         Lebanon: Crye Leike Realtors, 1432 W. Main St.

·         Lenoir: Lenoir City Police Department, 530 Highway 321 North

·         Livingston: Walgreens, 805 W. Main Street

·         Manchester: Walgreens, 806 McArthur St.

·         Martin: Martin City Police Department, 101 University St.

·         Maryville: Maryville Justice Center, 940 East Lamar Alexander Pkwy.

·         Memphis: Kroger, 7942 Winchester Road

·         Memphis: Kroger, 3860 Austin Peay Highway

·         Memphis: Shelby County Building, 1080 Madison Avenue

·         Memphis: Kroger, 7615 Highway 70

·         Memphis: Kroger, 1234 Finley

·         Memphis: Kroger, 3444 Plaza Ave.

·         Memphis: United Methodist Church, 2404 Kirby Road

·         Morristown: Walmart, 475 S. Davy Crockett Highway

·         Murfreesboro: MTSU Health Services, 1848 Blue Raider Drive

·         Murfreesboro: Middle Tennessee Medical Center, 1700 Medical Center Pkwy.

·         Nashville: TBI Headquarters, 901 R.S. Gass Blvd.

·         Newbern: Newbern Police Department, 121 E. Main Street

·         Oak Ridge: Food City, 1199 Oak Ridge Turnpike

·         Oak Ridge: Oak Ridge Police Department, 200 S. Tulane Ave.

·         Oliver Springs: Food City, 508 E. Tri County Blvd.

·         Pikeville: Piggly Wiggly, North Main Street

·         Portland: Walgreens, 104 Highway 52 East

·         Pulaski: Walgreens, 620 West College St.

·         Rogersville: Food City, 1287 E. Main Street

·         Sevierville: Sevierville City Police Department, 300 Gary Wade

·         Signal Mountain: Signal Mountain City Police and Fire Station, 1111 Ridgeway Avenue

·         Somerville: Fred’s Pharmacy. 16280 Highway 64

·         Spring City: City Hall, 229 Front St.

·         Springfield: CVS, 903 Memorial Blvd.

·         Tullahoma: Walgreens, 700 N. Jackson Street

·         Union City: Baptist Memorial Hospital, 1201 Baptist St.

·         White House: Walgreens, 480 Highway 76

For information about the DEA National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, go online to http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html. For information about the TDMHSAS substance abuse prevention effort around the state, go online to tn.gov/mental/A&D/A_D_preventionServ.shtml or contact Michael Rabkin at (615) 532-6597 or Michael.Rabkin@tn.gov.