Division, Partners Team Up For Drug Take-Back Event

CHATTANOOGA – The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance’s (TDCI) Division of Consumer Affairs is partnering with numerous state and local agencies from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (EST) Saturday, April 30 for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

“Our partners are an invaluable resource for furthering our mission of protecting Tennessee consumers of all walks of life,” said TDCI Deputy Commissioner Bill Giannini. “We hope residents of Hamilton and Bradley counties will take advantage of the opportunity to protect their personal information and their families’ health.”  

Media is invited to attend a press event at 9:45 a.m. April 30 at Mt. Canaan Baptist Church, 4801 Highway 58.

Residents can drop off their old medications (prescriptions or over-the-counter) for proper disposal at one of the 11 Hamilton County area locations. (There are also two sites in Bradley County.) Sites in bold will have document shredders provided by the Division of Consumer Affairs that are available for shredding personal documents such as tax information or medical records. Locations include:

• Walgreens in Hixson - 5478 TN Highway 153
• Walgreens in East Brainerd - 2289 Gunbarrel Rd
• Walgreens in Northshore – 110 North Market St
• Mt. Cannan Baptist Church– 4801 HWY 58
• Red Bank Food City (Formerly Bi-Lo) - 3901 Dayton Blvd
• Signal Mtn. Police Dept. -1111 Ridgeway Ave
• Walgreens in Brainerd - 3605 Brainerd Rd
• Walgreens in East Ridge - 5301 Ringgold Rd
• Walgreens in Ooltewah - 9307 County Hwy
• Walgreens in Rossville – 4810 Rossville Blvd
• Walgreens in Soddy Daisy – 121 Harrison Ln
• Walgreens in Cleveland – 2399 McGrady Drive, SE
• Cleveland Police Department - 100 Church Street, NE

Having unused or expired medications in the home can lead to medication errors, accidental overdoses, or inappropriate use/abuse. In a well-intentioned effort to avoid these problems, many people flush unwanted medications down the toilet as a means of disposal.  However, flushing medications means that traces of these drugs eventually end up back in the environment. 

“Experience shows that the most effective and cost-efficient way to ensure high-quality water at the tap is to keep our source waters clean,” said Tennessee American Water President Valoria Armstrong. “We support this partnership because it helps spread an important message to the public: Don't flush medications down the toilet, where they would eventually end up in our waterways.”

The Drug Take-Back program offers citizens a chance to safely and conveniently dispose of unwanted, unused prescription or over-the-counter drugs (for both pets and people) and avoid misuse or unintentional harm to families, pets and the environment.

“Properly disposing of medication reduces the chance of teenage experimentation and overdose,” said Camilla Bibbs, Executive Director of the Hamilton County Coalition. “We encourage residents to take advantage of the drug take back day by simply driving to one of the locations and dropping off medication with no questions asked,”

Other event sponsors include:  

• Bradley County Sheriff’s Office
• Chattanooga Police Department
• City of Chattanooga
• Drug Enforcement Administration
• East Ridge Police Department
• Hamilton County Coalition
• Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office
• Red Bank Police Department
• Signal Mountain Police Department
• Soddy Daisy Police Department
• Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance’s Division of Consumer Affairs
• Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services
• Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
• Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
• Walgreens

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