Area residents are encouraged to clean out their medicine cabinets and dispose of unused and expired medications later this month.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26, local law enforcement, pharmacies, Southeast Missouri Behavioral Health and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration are promoting the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.
Community members are encouraged to bring unused, unwanted or expired prescription medication to a collection site for safe disposal.
“To me, if anything is over a year old, I would dispose of it for sure,” said Stoddard County Coroner Kenny Pope. “ … Anything (medication) they may be concerned about that is not a year old, they should ask the health department or local physician” about disposal.
Only pills and patches will be accepted at the collection sites as they cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Collection sites will include the police departments in Poplar Bluff, Malden, Dexter, Bernie and Doniphan and the sheriff’s departments in Carter, Wayne and Reynolds counties.
Ripley County Sheriff Mike Barton said participation in the program is very important for the removal of all “old, unused drugs, so they won’t fall in the hands of a child accidentally.”
Barton said his department partners with the Doniphan Police Department for Take Back Day, so that is where Ripley countians can take their unwanted medications.
“I would like to encourage all to bring in their drugs, and we’ll get rid of them for them,” said Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch. “It’s very important to get rid of (the medications) and keep any possible kids from getting a hold of it or it getting in the wrong hands.”
According to Pope, the number of overdose deaths in Stoddard County this year is “pretty high, higher than it has been.”
For Butler County, Coroner Andy Moore, said the overdose deaths are down substantially.
From Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, 2018, “we had 18 overdoses,” as compared to four during the same time span this year, Moore said. “That’s huge. As far as deaths, it’s quite a win (but) it’s not zero.”
Moore attributes the decrease to the “absolute awareness throughout the county over the past year.
“There’s been a lot of groups, campaigns,” including the health department getting the message out about opioid overdoses.
“It’s so easy to just clean out the medicine cabinet and take it to the drop box at the police department,” Moore said.
Like the Poplar Bluff Police Department, “we have a box in our office lobby, 24 hours, seven days a week, they can bring their drugs in and put them in the box,” Finch said.