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Residents can safely discard medications at Oct. 29 event
MISSISSIPPI STATE – Local residents can get rid of their unused household medications at the third annual National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Oct. 29.
The Mississippi State University Extension Service and the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department are working together to facilitate the event, which will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in front of the Starkville Piggly Wiggly store at 118 Highway 12.
The event is part of a U.S. Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration initiative to give the public a safe and easy way to dispose of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Participants can dispose of medications without questions or identification at this event, and no inventory of discarded substances will be made.
At the event, attendees may remove pills from their original container for direct disposal into the collection box or remove identifying labels and dispose of medications in their original containers. Liquid medications, such as cough syrups, may also be disposed of at this event. These liquid products should be tightly sealed in the original container or mixed with kitty litter and sealed in a disposable container. Site organizers will not accept intravenous solutions, injectables, syringes or illicit substances.
Expired or unwanted medications in homes are a risk to public health and safety, and improper disposal of these substances can be harmful to water quality. More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Each day, approximately 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time, according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends or are taken from home medicine cabinets.
For more information, contact Amy Schmidt of the MSU Extension Service at (662) 325-8279 or aschmidt@abe.msstate.edu.
Writer: Karen Templeton
