Return unused drugs Saturday
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[September 22, 2010]
Stacy's Family Pharmacy and the
Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs Task Force are hosting a drug
recycling program on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Anyone who has
unfinished or expired prescription or over-the-counter medications
that they don't know what to do with is welcome to drop them off at
Stacy's Pharmacy, 709 Woodlawn Road.
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The event is in conjunction with National Drug Take-Back Day, a
campaign that aims to educate the public that unused medications can
be harmful to the environment and exploited for abuse.The program
is anonymous, though illicit substances such as marijuana or
methamphetamines are not part of the initiative. Prescription and
over-the-counter medications are accepted.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, many Americans are
unaware that medicines languishing in home cabinets are highly
susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Studies show that a
majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and
friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
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Prescription drugs are being misused and abused at alarming rates
throughout the United States. The number of new users of
prescription drugs among 12- to 17-year-olds is second only to
marijuana, according to a 2008 national survey on drug use and
health. In fact, nearly 2,500 youth aged 12-17 abuse a prescription
pain reliever each day for the very first time. Three-quarters of
people who abuse drugs say they obtained them from friends and
relatives. And accidental overdose was the second-leading killer of
35- to 54-year-old adults in the U.S. last year.
Additionally, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose
of unused medicines, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing
them away -- both potential safety and health hazards.
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Never flush prescription drugs. Always read specific disposal
instructions on the drug label or patient information that
accompanies the medication. Before throwing away a container, always
scratch out all identifying information on the label to make it
unreadable. And never give medications to friends.
The ATOD Task Force is a component of the Healthy Communities
Partnership, a collaborative organization comprised of dozens of
community agencies. For answers to questions about drug disposal or
abuse, please contact the ADOT Task Force at 732-5066 or
atod@healthycommunitiespartnership.org.
[Text from file received from
Healthy
Communities Partnership]
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