Prescription drug abuse is a problem in our country. The 2007 National Study of Drug Use and Health found that 70% of people who abuse prescription pain relievers indicated they got them from friends or relatives, and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that upwards of 9 million people use prescription medication for non-medical uses.

The American Medicine Chest Challenge is a community based public health initiative, with law enforcement partnership, designed to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and provide a nationwide day of disposal – at a collection site or in the home – of unused, unwanted, and expired medicine that will be held on November 13, 2010 in communities across the country.