American Medicine Chest Challenge to Raise Awareness of Prescription Drug Abuse

National day of awareness to be held on November 13, 2010 in thousands of communities across the country on the heels of President Obama signing of the Safe and Secure Drug Disposal Act

On November 13, 2010, a historic and lifesaving event --- The American Medicine Chest Challenge (AMCC) --- a public health initiative to raise awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse will be held in communities across the country.

The national event comes on the heels of President Obama's signing of Senate Bill S3397, a law that will allow for prescription drug collection and disposal programs to be conducted with greater ease.

According to SAMHSA's 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health 70 percent of people who abuse prescription pain relievers obtained them from friends or relatives, the same survey showed that the scale of the problem is vast: more than 6 million Americans used a prescription medication for nonmedical purposes in the past 30 days. As alarming, is the fact that, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy there has been a 400% increase in substance abuse treatment admissions for people abusing prescriptio