Drug Take Back Day is Saturday in Oak Ridge, Clinton, Norris, Rocky Top

Posted at 1:26 pm October 25, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Anderson County is participating in the 16th Annual DEA Rx Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 26. Community members can bring their expired or unused medicines to one of the Anderson County Take Back locations anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday.

Collection sites will be located at the police departments listed below. Each department will be set up outside in their respective parking lots to receive the expired or unused medicines.

Clinton Police Department, 125 West Broad Street, Clinton
Norris Police Department, 9 West Circle Road, Norris (will begin at 8 a.m.)
Oak Ridge Police Department, 200 South Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge
Rocky Top Police Department, 104 Lawson Street, Rocky Top

The National Rx Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue, a press release said. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs, and that number has continued to climb in recent years. Studies show many of the misused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. The Take Back Day provides an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths in the community and communities across the United States.

Items that are accepted for disposal include prescription medications (unwanted, expired, unused), antibiotics/steroids, cold and flu medications, vitamins/herbal supplements, pet medications, medication samples, and medication ointments/lotions.

Anderson County also has six permanent disposal bins located throughout the county—one in each police department in Clinton, Norris, Oak Ridge, Oliver Springs, and Rocky Top, as well as at Walgreens Oak Ridge next to the pharmacy counter, the press release said. These bins are available to community members anytime to dispose of unused or expired medications.

ASAP of Anderson participates in the Count It! Lock It! Drop It! campaign, a comprehensive community initiative to prevent prescription drug misuse, the press release said. In addition to disposal bins at each police department, ASAP of Anderson also offers free medication lock boxes to community members in Anderson County. Visit https://www.asapofanderson.org/quick-links/medication-lock-boxes/ to request free lock boxes for yourself or a family member. Organizations can also request lock boxes to distribute out into the community, the press release said.

To partner with ASAP of Anderson, learn more about its mission, or make a donation, go to www.ASAPofAnderson.org or call (865) 457-3007. For more information about Count It! Lock It! Drop It!, visit www.countitlockitdropit.org.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

You can contact John Huotari, owner and publisher of Oak Ridge Today, at (865) 951-9692 or [email protected]

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