Sullivan County Anti Drug Coalition Takes Back 512 lbs of Unwanted Medication

We had Take-Back events in three places: Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, Bristol Police Department, and Kingsport Police Department (KPD) held their's at a local high school.

The total amount of drugs submitted among the three was 512 pounds (estimated 24 pounds of controlled drugs).

KPD had a similar outcome to prior events. they filled five 30 gallon barrels thanks to the involvement of United Way of Greater Kingsport.

The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office did not have as much, but we decided to take an "evangelical" method when advertising. We approached people in parking lots across the town of Blountville to spread awareness. Many people responded well to it, and it increased the numbers slightly. It was a learning experience and will help shape our approach to the next event.

Bristol Police Department had a dramatic increase since the previous event. The October event yielded 90lbs total compared to this April event bringing in 206lbs. This could likely be due to our efforts to expand our radius to marginal communities in Bristol and Piney Flats. Many pharmacies in more rural areas were waiting for ways to advertise the take-back event.

We did not offer any incentives during this event, but it may be on the table in the future.You can find us on Facebook and Twitter @scadcoalition.

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