MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services (CCDHHS) are reminding residents that unused or expired medications can present a serious threat to public health and are urging them to participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, September 27, 2014.
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and it provides an opportunity for people to safely dispose of unwanted, unused, or expired prescription drugs at local community drop-off sites.
The following drop-off sites will be available in Chautauqua County:
- ALSTAR Headquarters North, 738 Monroe St. in Dunkirk.
Hosted by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office.
- Chautauqua Mall, 318 East Fairmount Ave. in Lakewood.
Hosted by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office.
- Southside Pharmacy, 766 Foote Ave. in Jamestown.
Hosted by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office.
- Westfield Family Physicians, 138 E. Main St. in Westfield.
Hosted by the Village of Westfield Police Department.
Sheriff Joseph Gerace said, “The abuse, misuse, theft, and unlawful sale of prescription medications are growing concerns in Chautauqua County. We continue to partner with other law enforcement agencies as part of a tremendous enforcement effort to keep these medications from getting into the wrong hands. Our participation in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is one way to allow the public to safely and anonymously dispose of these medications to help stem the abuse of prescription drugs.”
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.
“While prescription drugs and other medications, including over-the-counter medicine, can be beneficial when taken properly, they also pose potential health risks including misuse and abuse as well as water hazards related to improper disposal,” said Christine Schuyler, Director of Health and Human Services. “It is vitally important that medicine is properly stored and disposed of and kept out of sight and reach of children at all times – young people are especially at risk for accidental poisoning and overdose as well as misuse that often leads to addiction.”
Residents who are unable to get to one of the community sites on September 27, can also utilize the drug drop box in the lobby of the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, 15 East Chautauqua St. in Mayville. The drug drop off box is available 24 hours a day for anonymous drops at no cost.
The Department of Health and Human Services Division of Environmental Health also offers the following steps for disposing drugs safely:
- Crush or dissolve pills in water, coffee, or another liquid.
- Make a paste of the dissolved pills or liquid medication by adding it to kitty litter or coffee grounds.
- Put the paste in a closed container or sealable bag.
- Put the closed container in the trash.
- To protect your privacy, before throwing out a medicine container, scratch out all identifying information on the prescription label to make it unreadable.
National Drug Take Back Day is sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). At the last Drug Take Back Day held in April, 780,158 pounds of pills were brought to the 6,072 collection sites across the nation that the DEA and its 4,423 state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners set up.
For more information, visit www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov or call the Sheriff’s Office at (716) 753-4900 or the Department of Health and Human Services at 1-866-604-6789.
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