The Hamilton County Coalition are distributing medication lockboxes and drug deactivation pouches to the public at no cost. Both items can be ordered on the HCC website through this link or by calling the HCC at 305-1449.
Once ordered, contactless pick-ups are available every Tuesday and Thursday at the HCC office from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The address is 5721 Marlin Road, Building 6100, Suite 3200.
“In this time where a lot of families, especially children and young adults, are around the home more, it’s common for people to be accidental drug dealers,” Hamilton County Coalition Executive Director Camilla Bibbs-Lee said. “Our goal is to have lockboxes and deactivation pouches in as many homes as possible to keep medications safe from people it’s not meant for, and to have unused or expired medications properly disposed of.”
The Helix Prescription Drug Security Cabinet provides a spacious and secure place to store medications. The high-quality chest comes with a lock and two keys that keeps medications safe from children and others for whom they are not prescribed.
The Deterra Drug Deactivation System is a handheld pouch designed to dispose of any unused or expired medications in an environmentally safe way that prevents contaminating water supplies and landfills.
From January to April 2019, there were 107 recorded overdoses in the Chattanooga-area. From January to April 2020, there have been 230.