CLEVELAND, Ohio — This fall’s Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is an ideal time to safely get rid of unused prescription medications, so that young children — or people seeking a high — don’t find them.
The next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The twice-yearly event provides a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also providing education about the potential for abuse of medications.
On that day, many Cleveland-area hospitals and pharmacies will make safe disposal sites available to the public. University Hospitals and Cleveland Clinic are partnering to host collections efforts at Northeast Ohio locations.
Flushing unwanted medications can contaminate local water supplies, health experts said.
Since 2014, CVS Pharmacy has removed more than 6.8 million pounds of unwanted and expired medication through its safe medication disposal units nationwide.
UH gathered 45 boxes of medications from 280 people during this spring’s Drug Take Back Day, the health system said. Volunteers also distributed 90 Narcan kits for combating overdoses and 170 test strips for detecting deadly fentanyl, UH said.
Many people are unaware of the risks of keeping unused opioids, or how unused opioIds contribute to the epidemic of addiction.
“Proper disposal of prescription drugs is important for our communities’ health and well-being,” said Chris Peshek, director of pharmacy operations for Discount Drug Mart.
“Unused medication has the potential to be obtained and used by other people, sometimes with fatal consequences. Among children and teens, several studies show that a friend or relative’s medicine cabinet is the most common method of obtaining pain medications,” Peshek said.
While Discount Drug Mart has partnered with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, and other local organizations to host Drug Take Back Days earlier this year, no fall dates are planned.
Among people aged 12 or older in 2021 who misused prescription pain relievers in the previous year, an estimated 3.7% percent took their last pain reliever from a friend or relative without asking, while 33.9% got them from a friend or relative for free, and 7.3% bought their last pain reliever from a friend or relative, according to federal data.
A single 80 milligram tablet of OxyContin can easily kill a child, or even an adult who has not been taking opioids regularly, health experts said.
Accidental exposure to medicine in the home is a major source of unintentional pediatric poisonings in the United States, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Annually in this country, approximately 60,000 emergency department visits and 450,000 calls to poison centers are made because children under 6 years of age accidentally found and swallowed medications, the FDA said.
These poisonings happen despite drugs being stored in child-proof containers. In a 2006 study of cases of accidental child exposure to a grandparent’s medicine, 45% of cases involved pills stored in child-resistant bottles, the FDA said.
Finding safe disposal places online
To find a drug permanent collection site or take-back event, visit this FDA website.
Search this website by ZIP code or city/state to find a collection site near you.
MyOldMeds.com offers a nationwide locator with over 23,000 secure disposal options in communities around the country.
UH, Clinic to Host Drug Take Back Day
Click here for information about Clinic locations and hours for Take Back Day.
Click here for information about UH event locations and times. The public can also safely dispose of medications outside of this one-day event. Click here to visit UH’s year-round prescription drug collection sites.
All UH drug take-back sites will offer free naloxone kits, and fentanyl test strips courtesy of Project DAWN.
Acceptable items at UH: Prescription medications, over-the-counter medications and liquid medication in bottles holding less than 4 ounces (package bottles in a Ziploc® bag).
Not accepted at UH: Illegal or “street” drugs, Needles, syringes or sharps containers, medical devices and batteries, aerosol cans and inhalers, mercury-containing devices or liquid chemotherapy agents.
Health screenings: UH Lake West, Portage and TriPoint medical centers, as well as the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office will provide no-cost glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure screenings.
Local participating pharmacies
CVS PHARMACY
- Locations: CVS has numerous Cleveland-area locations with safe medication disposal kiosks. Find locations here. Many of these kiosks are available year-round.
- Hours: Pharmacy hours of operation, which can be found on the website’s store locator.
- Accepted: Prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Meijer
- Locations: Drug Take Back Day will be observed at all Meijer stores. Store locations can be found here. Kiosks are positioned near the pharmacies.
- Times: Customers can access the kiosks year-round for disposal of over-the-counter and prescription medications, including controlled substances, at Meijer stores during normal pharmacy hours 6 a.m. to midnight.
- Not accepted: Needles or other sharps, inhalers, mercury thermometers, medications that contain iodine and illegal drugs.
Rite Aid
- Location: Rite Aid’s Wooster location is the only one that has a medication disposal bin in store year-round. While our other stores may not have a medication disposal bin, our pharmacists are available for guidance as to how to properly dispose of unwanted or unused medications.
Julie Washington covers healthcare for cleveland.com. Read previous stories at this link.