From Staff Reports
Help prevent prescription misuse by cleaning medicine cabinets at least once a year. This is the perfect time since National Prescription Take Back Day is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. In Butler County, drugs may be dropped off at the Poplar Bluff Police Department, 1111 Poplar St., Poplar Bluff.
Stoddard County residents may drop off unused prescriptions at the Dexter and Puxico police departments. Dexter PD is located at 305 Cooper St. and the Puxico police department is located at 141 N. Hickman.
Doniphan Police Department, 124 Jefferson, is the site where Ripley County residents may dispose of their outdated or unused medication.
Carter County Sheriff's Department, 101 Highway W, Van Buren, will collect unused medication. Reynolds County Sheriff's Department, 2319 Green St., in Centerville, Mo., will accept unused and/or outdated drugs.
Wayne County residents may drop their unwanted medication at the sheriff's department at 100 Maple St., Greenville.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) hosts National Prescription Drug Take Back Day in October to help you safely and conveniently get rid of unused prescription medicines.
Extra pills lying around the house can be a serious threat to children, teenagers, and one's own health. While these extra pills may seem harmless, they can hurt children who eat them - as well as fuel the national opioid epidemic.
The Missouri Department of Mental Health estimates that 235,000 Missourians misused prescription drugs in the last year. In Butler County, three in 10 youth believe prescription drugs would be easy to get from a friend or a family member.
Karen Crook, director of the Butler County Community Resource Council, says, "Since August 2011, the permanent drug drop box located at the Poplar Bluff Police Department has collected over 3,000 pounds of medications. Our community now looks forward to the drug take back days in April and October but understands that24 hours a day, 7 days a weekanyone can dispose of their medication at the Poplar Bluff Police Department."
Pain medicine is the most commonly misused prescription, but isn't the only one. For example, antibiotics used to treat an ear infection shouldn't be saved in case you get a sore throat. If you're prescribed antibiotics, you're usually given the exact number of drugs you need and shouldn't have leftovers. If you have leftover antibiotics for some reasons, don't take them for a later illness. They may not be the right antibiotic and could make future infections harder to treat. If you can't take part in National Prescription Take Back Day, here are steps you can take to safely get rid of unused medicines:
* Follow the instructions for disposal listed on your medicine label or with the patient information.
* If you have unused pills, crush them, put them in a sealable plastic bag, and fill with water and sawdust, coffee grounds, or kitty litter - then throw the sealed bag in the trash.
* If you have unused liquid medicines, pour them in a sealable plastic bag and fill with water and sawdust, coffee grounds, or litter - then throw the sealed bag in the trash.
* Scratch out your personal information on the prescription bottle label and throw the empty container in the trash.
* Don't throw pills down the toilet - the chemicals in pills can pollute the environment.
Looking for more information on ways to get rid of unused medicine?
* Ask your pharmacist for more information about safe drug disposal.
* Check for local pharmacies that take unused medicine such as opioids, ADHD drugs, and Xanax at DisposeMyMeds.org. There are locations in Doniphan, Piedmont, and Van Buren, Mo.
* Check the website https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/ for the drop off location near you on National Prescription Take Back Day on Saturday- you can drop off medicines completely free and anonymously.
* Drop off unused medicines at the permanent medicine drop off location at the Poplar Bluff Police Department.