Skip to content

Agencies planning pill disposal service

Agencies planning pill disposal service
The Martin Police Department will host a prescription pill drop April 28.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day, the MPD, Martin Police Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Van’s Pharmacy and the Weakley County Prevention Coalition will give the public an opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs.
Community members are asked to bring their medications for disposal to the gazebo in Festival Park next to the Martin Police Department in downtown Martin. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse, according to a news release.
Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, 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 the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines – flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash – both pose potential safety and health hazards.

WCP 4.17.12