Drug take back day

Save A Life- Pitch the Leftover Medications

Do you have leftover medications in your medicine cabinet? Are you saving that medication in case you contract the same illness in the future? Well, that is NOT OK! Did you know that EVERYDAY 5,700 Americans misuse a prescription drug for the first time. Nearly 51% of those who misuse prescription pain relievers get them from family or friends.

white backgournd with yellow and red capsules and blue tablets of medications

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations Survey on Drug Use and Health revealed that between 6 and 7 million Americans , age 12 and older, have misused a prescription pain killer (such as OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin), sedative ( Valium, Xanax) or stimulant ( Ritalin, Adderall) in the past month.

Every year, approximately 60,000 emergency department visits and 450,000 calls to poison centers are made after kids under 6 years of age find and ingest medication accidentally. Below is a case summary from the FDA to show how some medications can result in death if they are accidentally taken by children.

  • A 2 year old boy was found lethargic by his mother with her methadone bottle open and 20 pills missing. She then put the child down for a nap and could not wake him 5 hours later. The child arrived to the emergency department (ED) in cardiac arrest, pupils were fixed and dilated.  A heart ultrasound showed no cardiac activity after 30 minutes of resuscitation, and the boy was declared dead. The cause of death: methadone toxicity.

Watch the video on YouTube to view the text transcript.

This video demonstrates how to safely dispose of unused medications.

Please take time to check your medications and safely dispose of any medication you no longer need, you could be saving a life of a friend or family member.

Sources:

http://www.generationrx.org

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/safe-disposal-medicines/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you-should-know

Written by: Susan Zies, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Wood County

Reviewed by: Shannon Smith, RD, LD, CDCES, Program Coordinator, Wood County

Join me for Drug Take Back Day this April 24

Is it time for Spring cleaning at your house? Here is a simple task you can do to prevent serious consequences. Open your medicine cabinet or cupboard and look for expired, unwanted, or unused prescription medications.  Now is the perfect time to dispose of them safely and easily. No, I do not mean to throw them down the toilet or put them in the trash.

The best solution for unused medications is to utilize a drug disposal kit or to drop them off at a collection site. April 24, 2021 is the Spring Drug Take Back Day.  I encourage you to locate unused medications in your home, find the collection site and drop off your unused prescription drugs.Drug Take Back Day  

Did you know that most abused prescription drugs come from family and friends, including from home medicine cabinets? Expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to potential accidental poisoning, misuse, and overdose. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment. How many times do you hear about another overdose? The statistics are startling. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. has seen an increase in overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 83,544 Americans overdosing during the 12-month period ending July 1, 2020, the most ever recorded in a 12-month period.

I learned about a 22-year-old in my community who overdosed and died last week. His family buried him over the weekend. This story is all too familiar.

How can you help prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths?

Let’s explore this common scenario: you are a parent, grandparent or family member who had surgery a few months ago and in your medicine cabinet there are leftover pain killers. The surgery was months ago, and you haven’t thought about those medicines in your cabinet. You don’t need them, and they are just sitting there. BUT….. did you know that many teens get pain medication from a family member or friend? In fact, over 40% say they got the pain reliever they used most recently from a friend or relative for free.

Teen looking at meds in a medicine cabinetNow that you know the facts, work to be part of the solution!

  • Go to your cabinets and pull out the medications that you no longer need.
  • Find a safe drug take back site or utilize a drug disposal kit.
  • Properly dispose of unused medications.

Today is the day for you to take a step in the right direction and to help prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths. Who will join me in this fight? Share what you did in the comments.  

Writer: Michelle Treber, Ohio State University Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Pickaway County, treber.1@osu.edu

Reviewer: Lorrissa Dunfee, Ohio State University Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Belmont County, dunfee.54@osu.edu