Division, Partners Team Up For Drug Take-Back Event

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.

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,”

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