Charlie Bauder, WNEG AM-630/Special to Independent Mail and Alison Newton, Independent Mail
Posted September 11, 2010 at 6:48 p.m.
Several communities in South Carolina and Georgia are planning to be part of efforts to help people safely dispose of unused, expired or unwanted medication.
In South Carolina, the city of Anderson Police Department and the Pickens County Sheriff's Office will serve as collection points on Sept. 25, which will be National Take-Back Day.
The day will provide an opportunity for the public to hand over expired, unwanted or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications, such as over-the-counter products, for destruction. The service will be free and anonymous for those who use it.
Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse, according to the National Take-Back Day website. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are increasing, 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 home medicine cabinets. Many people also do not know how to properly dispose of unused or unwanted medicine, often flushing it down the toilet or throwing it away - both potential safety and health hazards, according to the website.
In Georgia, Operation Pill Drop - the name for the state's efforts such as those for National Take-Back Day - is set to happen from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 25. The Hartwell Police Department and the Hart County Sheriff's Office in Hartwell will be drop-off points.
Operation Pill Drop cannot accept needles/sharps; syringes with needles; thermometers; intravenous bags; bloody or infectious waste; personal care products; empty containers; inhalers; medical equipment; and hydrogen peroxide.
In Stephens County, Ga., The Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal, or P2D2, Program, celebrated the unveiling of its first drop-off point Thursday with a Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting.
The Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition is coordinating the program locally.
In the county, the Toccoa Police Department will be a drop-off point on Sept. 25.
Toccoa Police Chief Jackie Whitmire said the department is proud to be involved.
“So many people have leftover medications and prescription drugs and do not know what to do with them, and we sure do not want those kinds of drugs flushed down into the water system because they end up in Lake Hartwell and everywhere else,” Whitmire said. “It's getting to be a problem all over the country.”
Danny Yearwood with the Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition said the group hopes to expand the program in the county in the future. Yearwood said he hopes everyone can become involved.
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