Drug Take-Back: Taking Unwanted Drugs Out Of The Cupboard And Off The Streets

Oneida, TN (2011-11-14) Last Saturday, Schools Together Allowing No Drugs (STAND) and the Scott County Sheriff’s Department held Scott County’s fifth prescription drug disposal event. The take-back initiative collected nearly fifteen pounds of prescribed and over-the-counter medications.

STAND and the Scott County Sheriff’s Department teamed up once again to collect expired and unneeded prescription and over-the-counter medications from Scott County residents on Saturday, collecting 13.6 pounds of medication during the four hour function. The event was part of an East Tennessee regional prescription take back that included Anderson, Blount, Knox, Roane, and Scott Counties.

Nearly one hundred pounds of medications have been collected in Scott County since the take back events began in August 2010. “I am pleased with the participation that we have had from the citizens of Scott County,” said Trent Coffey, Director of STAND. “It shows how committed this community is in reducing the inappropriate use of prescription medications.”

The prescription drug take back events were initiated after school testing results showed that prescription drug use was rising at an alarming rate among students. Test data collected during the 2007/2008 school year showed that students testing positive for drug use were twice as likely to test positive for prescription medications as all other drugs combined, a complete reversal of the previous year. The 2008/2009 school year showed fewer positive results overall, however, prescription medication positives were still twice as likely. “We’ve seen a real trend reversal on the prescription drug positives among students since these take backs began,” commented Dale Owens, STAND Coordinator. “The number of prescription drug positives has dropped dramatically over the past two years among our students.”

STAND and the Sheriff’s Department have been largely responsible for the planning of the take back events, but Coffey is quick to point out all of the support from other county organizations that make the take backs possible. “This is not a STAND event or a Sheriff’s Department event, this is a community event,” commented Coffey. “Whether it’s volunteers from Tennessee Technology Center’s Nursing Program, shelter from Four Oaks Funeral Home during bad weather, lunch from Domino’s for our volunteers, biohazard bags and sharps containers from St. Mary’s Medical Center of Scott County, local pharmacies posting advertisements for us, or local media outlets providing coverage, we couldn’t do this without a lot of support,” he concluded.