The days are getting longer and warmer. Snow has melted and flowers are starting to bloom. There’s no mistaking it– Spring is here!
And if you’re like others, chances are springtime puts you in a cheerier mood and gets you thinking about your “To-Do list.” Clean the windows, rake the yard, go through the closets, etc. One thing that should be on everyone’s list is: Clean out your medicine cabinet!
April is the perfect time to do that. Add it to your spring cleaning list. You might be thinking, “Why April?” Well, not only are you most likely already in cleaning mode, but there is also a National Drug Take Back Day (DTBD) scheduled for the end of the month. Add it to your calendar! Saturday, April 24th from 10 am to 2 pm you can drop off expired, unused, and unneeded medications at participating locations. The DEA collaborates with law enforcement offices throughout the country to host take back events twice a year. These are held in April and October and have been very successful.
In fact, October 2020’s DTBD was record-breaking, both nationally and statewide. 985,392 pounds were collected throughout the United States with 40,148 of those originating from Maine. Can’t make it on the 24th? That’s okay! There are so many ways to safely dispose of expired/unneeded prescription medications.
Safe Disposal Methods:
- Take what you no longer need to a location on a National Drug Take Back Day
- Dispose of medications at year-round site at your local police department
- Follow instructions for at-home disposal: Mix medication with coffee grinds or kitty litter in a plastic bag, throw bag out into trash, scratch off personal information from bottles or medication packaging
- Use a drug inactivation kit such as a Deterra pouch
Throwing medications directly in the trash, flushing, or giving them away to others are not recommended!
Safe disposal methods protect you, your family, and our community by reducing the risk of prescription medication misuse, diversion into the community, and contamination of our drinking water.
According to the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA), prescription drug misuse is a serious public health concern. Most people who began misusing prescription medications were able to get them with ease from the medicine cabinets of family and friends. This misuse is especially dangerous for prescription opioids and other medications with a high risk of dependence. Four out of five people who use heroin reported first misusing prescription opioids.
The good news is that we all have a role in preventing prescription medication misuse and there are some fairly simple things we can do.
- Use prescriptions safely: medication which is prescribed to you and as prescribed. Do not share with others or in a way other than prescribed.
- Store prescription medications safely: keep these medications out of easily accessible areas. Where is your medicine cabinet right now? If you answered “the bathroom” or “the kitchen,” it might be time to change that. These are two of the most accessible areas in a home. If you have prescription medications (other than life-saving ones), you should consider locking them up in a lock box and putting that box in a different location.
- Dispose of medications: we all hold onto things longer than we should at times. Set some time aside to go through your prescription medications and safely dispose of ones which are expired or no longer needed.
Let’s keep our families and communities safe from prescription medication misuse. Do your part this month! Westbrook’s disposal location is 570 Main Street at the Public Safety building for the take back event and for year-round disposal.
If you have any questions, please contact: partnersforprevention@westbrookschools.org!
See our Prescription Misuse Prevention webpage for more resources.
