Prescription drugs left lying around at home are some of the most susceptible drugs to misuse because of how easily they can be obtained. The Next Door has seen firsthand that these drugs being easily accessible to our clients has greatly impacted their journey with substance use disorders. We are hopeful that the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) initiative will help decrease the number of times we see this type of drug misuse by future clients.
As October 29 approaches, we want to bring awareness to the national campaign that the DEA will be running–National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. This initiative was begun in 2010 by the DEA to take back unused and unwanted prescription drugs left sitting around in people’s medicine cabinets. The DEA works with federal, state, and local governments to set up sites all around the country for people to bring their expired, unwanted, and unused prescription drugs.
We are urging anyone who has unused prescriptions lying around their home to find a disposal site to safely remove them from being misused. For our community in Tennessee, National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and disposal sites can be found all over Nashville and Chattanooga.
The closest site to The Next Door – Nashville that will be open for prescription drug disposal that day is the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center. The closest site to The Next Door – Chattanooga that will be open for prescription drug disposal that day is the Red Bank Police Department located at 3901 Dayton Blvd, Chattanooga, TN 37415.
To find the disposal site closest to you, visit www.dea.gov.