BOONE COUNTY, MO. -- People with old prescription medications have a chance to safely get rid of their unwanted drugs this Saturday.
The Youth Community Coalition and Boone County Sheriff’s Department announced a county wide effort to dispose of expired pills and prevent substance abuse.
They’re calling it “Prescription Drug Take Back Day”. The event allows you to drop off your old bottles of prescription pills at one of 7 Boone County schools this Saturday. Organizers want to get old, unused medications out of families’ medicine cabinets to prevent prescription drug abuse, allow for safe disposal, and keep Boone County kids safe.
“With teenagers, that age bracket seems to be kind of an in-thing for them to experiment with prescription medicines," Kilgore Pharmacist Bill Morrissey said. "If we can eliminate those medicines that we are not using anymore, get them destroyed or get them out of the house. I think that’s a big safety issue.”
Research shows that 1 in 7 American teenagers, or 15 percent, reported abusing a prescription pain reliever in the last year. Also, 63 percent of teens believe prescription drugs are easy to get from their parent’s medicine cabinet. That number is up from 56% of teens in 2008.
“In the last four years, three students in Boone County have died, and that’s been suspected in relation to subscription drug abuse," Youth Community Coalition Director Ryan Worley said. "It’s not just those kids across the street. It’s not just people from far away. It’s happening here.”
There are some things you can’t take to prescription drug take back day. For example, they won’t accept any needles or anything illegal.
Event organizers will turn you away if you bring any sharp objects or radioactive medicines. The medicine must be in its original packaging from the pharmacy.
The prescription drug drop off locations for this Saturday:
- Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Mo.
- Hickman High Schools in Columbia, Mo.
- Southern Boone County High School in Ashland, Mo.
- Harrisburg High School
- Centralia Intermediate School
- Hallsville High School
- Sturgeon High School.
The event takes place between 9 a.m. and noon.
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