HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Doctors prescribe medicine that is safe for us and if that medication sits in your cabinet unused, it could end up in the hands of someone it's not meant for or in your community's water supply.
Unused medication needs to be disposed of properly, which not only helps save the environment but could also save lives.
"Our overdose death numbers are at a historic high in our community, we have been facing an opioid epidemic for several years," said Partnership for a Drug-Free Community Executive Director Wendy Reeves.
"Children, young adults get their hands on these medications and they abuse them, they take them by accident, and it's just, it's not good, you know, we see deaths with with with with individuals, every day, and a lot, a lot of times it's accidental as well," said Madison County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Brent Patterson.
Many people think that by simply flushing prescription drugs, that they are getting rid of them. In actuality, they're just getting recycled back into the community.
"What happens is that it'll get into our water supply. We have very strong filtration processes in place, but it filters into the rivers, it affects our wildlife and everything like that so it's just best to bring them and drop them off," said Reeves.
Partnership for a Drug-Free Community wants to make it easy for you to properly dispose of medications by hosting a medication take-back day this Saturday.
"If they have any old, unused, expired medications that they don't need any longer. They can bring them, drive-by, drop them off, and then they will be destroyed," said Reeves.
"This is a way that everybody in the community can contribute to making our community a safer place to live."
This take-back event is on Saturday, October 23, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the following locations:
- Huntsville Public Safety Complex located at 815 Wheeler Avenue
- Madison City Hall located at 100 Hughes Road
- The CVS in Meridianville located at 12275 U.S. 231
According to Partnership for a Drug-Free Community, more than 27,000 pounds of outdated or unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications have been collected at community take-back events since area law enforcement agencies began the effort in September 2010.