The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, in association with the U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and the Office of Diversion Control is encouraging all Tennesseans to do their part to reduce the risk of prescription drug abuse.
On Saturday, April 30, in communities across the state, Tennesseans have the opportunity to take part in National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day which aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs from homes and offices.
The Coffee County Anti-Drug Collation reports that 2 in 5 10th grade students in Coffee County reported that it would be “sort of easy” or “very easy” to get some prescription drugs that were not prescribed to them by taking them from home without permission.
In 2015, the Tennessee Department of Health released some statistics on the impact of substance use in Tennessee revealing: The number of Tennesseans who die each year due to drug overdoses increased again in 2014. The total number of overdose deaths rose by nearly 100, from 1,166 in 2013 to a record-setting 1,263 in 2014. If those numbers are hard to comprehend, consider this: more people died from drug overdoses in Tennessee last year than were killed in motor vehicle accidents.
Drug Take-Back Day is April 30
