Safely Dispose of Your Unwanted Medications illcreek
MILLCREEK TOWNSHIP NEWS
Medication accumulation in the home and improper disposal of medications can lead to a variety of public health concerns, including environmental issues, accidental poisonings, wasted healthcare resources, and drug diversion.
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When taken as directed for valid medical purposes, prescription drugs can be safe and effective. However, in 2015, 18.9 million people ages 12 and older misused prescription medications, with 12.5 million people misusing prescription pain relievers, including opioids 1. Misuse of prescription medications often leads to illicit drug use, including heroin, fentanyl, or cocaine 2.
America has been fighting a drug overdose epidemic for years, and it continues to get worse. It is estimated that in 2016, there were 64,000 overdose deaths in the United States. This is approximately a 20 % increase over 2015, and 2017 is expected to see an even greater increase from 2016. A large portion of the deaths involved opioids, including prescription pain medications and illicit drugs 3.
Pennsylvania and Erie county emulate the national trends. In 2015, Pennsylvania reported over 3,500 overdose deaths, and final 2016 data is expected to be over 5,000 overdose deaths. Erie county also jumped drastically from approximately 70 deaths in 2015 to over 100 in 2016.
Proper disposal of prescription medications has received heightened national and local attention as an effort to decrease the abuse of prescription drugs and prevent overdose deaths. Surprisingly, over half of individuals that abused prescription pain relievers obtained them illegally from friends or relatives 3. In fact, over 40 % of student drug users in Pennsylvania indicated that they had taken prescription drugs from the medicine cabinets in their homes 4. Simply put, unused or expired medications stored in the home increases the risk of diversion and abuse.
To assist with the safe disposal of unused or expired medications in the home, there are a variety of options accessible to the public. Locally, various law enforcement officials and one pharmacy in Erie County have made available Medication Return Units( MRUs), where local residents can safely dispose of unused medications on a regular basis. Last year, local MRUs collected almost 6,000 pounds of medication( list of current MRUs provided below). Additionally, the Drug Enforcement Administration( DEA) currently offers the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day twice a year( typically in the fall and spring). Information on these events can be found at http:// www. deadiversion. usdoj. gov / drug _ disposal /.