Twice a year residents are reminded to check fire alarm batteries to make sure they’re fresh so that lives can be saved during a fire.
There is another fire burning through the country and twice a year officials also say residents have a part to play in containing it by doing something as simple as checking the medicine cabinet.
The DEA and Southeast Missouri Behavioral Health, in cooperation with local law enforcement are participating from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the National Prescription Take Back Day. Participating agencies include police departments from Poplar Bluff, Doniphan, Quilin, Piedmont, Puxico, Dexter and Bernie, and the Reynolds and Carter county sheriff’s offices.
On this day, individuals can stop by any of these locations, drop off unused medication and receive a free medication lock box, while supplies last. Local agencies will collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs. Liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes and other sharps, and illegal drugs will not be accepted.
Last year, there was only one opportunity in this normally twice-yearly event due to COVID-19, but in that one opportunity, local agencies were able to dispose of almost 1,200 pounds of medication, according to Nicole Galbraith, assistant director for prevention at Southeast Missouri Behavioral Health.
“We’re a technical assistance team designed to help the community, but specifically for this event we reach out to all local law enforcement agencies and ensure they are aware of the event and ensure they’re able to register,” she said.
The agency helps by supplying banners and other items.
“We supply medication lock boxes and pill pods, which are essentially two different ways of securing your prescription medications and locking them up, so children don’t get into them,” Galbraith said.
Individuals are warned to never take medication that was not prescribed, and against disposing of medication themselves.
“It’s not safe to just flush medication down the toilet, especially those with active ingredients, so that’s why we really encourage people to bring those expired, unused and unwanted medications to the drug drop boxes where they can be properly disposed of by the DEA,” Galbraith explained. “Those prescriptions that are being flushed down into the toilet are going into our water system.”
Susan Wilfong, project director, Partnership for Success with Southeast Missouri Behavioral Health wants everyone to recognize the danger to children.
“When people don’t get rid of their medications, there’s a potential that kids can get into those medications and if we get rid of those medications, they don’t have that temptation,” she said.
In this area, the problem comes into sharper focus when looking at the results of a recent survey taken by high school students.
The Missouri Student Survey, which is conducted in even numbered years, is taken by students in grades 6-12 attending public schools in Missouri. Participation in the survey is optional with questions based on alcohol, tobacco, and drug use and other harmful behaviors.
“In terms of youth issues, prescription medication misuse is one of the top three problems in every county in our area,” Galbraith said. “Most of our schools participate in the survey and many local students self-reported misusing or taking a prescription other than prescribed. The rest of the state of Missouri reports 6.3% of students reporting misusing them, but in our area it’s nearly 10%.”
While it’s a great idea to take advantage of the National Prescription Take Back Day on Saturday and pick up a free lock box, Southeast Missouri Behavioral Health supplies permanent disposal boxes that are in most police and sheriff’s offices in the area year-round.
Taking a few minutes to gather unused or expired medication and making the trip to have it disposed of is an easy way to help in the fight to keep prescription drugs out of the wrong hands. Certainly, a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.