REGION- Central Michigan District Health Department (CMDHD) is partnering with the Isabella Substance Awareness Coalition to host a prescription medication take back event on Thursday, October 24, from 1 – 4 p.m. at CMDHD’s Mt. Pleasant location: 2012 E. Preston.
This event is coordinated as part of the United States Drug Enforcement and Administration (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Medication take back events address a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that sit unused in homes are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug misuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.
The 26th National Take Back Day, in April 2024, saw Americans anonymously turn in 670,136 pounds (335 tons) of prescription drugs at 4,869 sites operated by the DEA. In addition to DEA’s Drug Take Back Day, there are many other ways to dispose of unwanted prescription drugs every day, including the 11,000 authorized collectors that are available all year long.
For more information, visit DEA’s year-round collection site locator. The Federal Drug Administration also provides information on how to properly dispose of prescription drugs at their website.
CMDHD offers several services through Exchange Central, our local syringe service program. Exchange Central is a harm reduction program to cut down the damage of substance use on an individual and community basis. Syringe Service Programs are designed to help decrease the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C due to risky practices such as the sharing of needles.
This article has been brought to you by Central Michigan District Health Department, which serves the counties of Arenac, Clare, Gladwin, Isabella, Osceola, and Roscommon. Visit our website at www.cmdhd.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
