To raise awareness about the potential for abuse of prescription medications, Southwest Prevention, the Iron County Sheriff’s Department, and Smith’s Food and Drug are sponsoring a Prescription Drug Take-Back Day event as part of the DEA’s National Take-Back Initiative on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will occur in the Cedar City Smith’s parking lot. Prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, and liquids will be accepted. Medical waste, syringes, intravenous solutions, and injectables cannot be accepted.
These prescription drug take-back day programs are a good way to remove expired, unwanted or unused medicines from the home and reduce the chance that someone may accidentally or intentionally take the medicine. The Cedar City event has collected 312 pounds of discarded medicine since Oct. 2013.
Don’t flush your prescription medications. If no instructions are given on the drug label and no take-back program is available in your area, take them out of their original containers and mix them with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter—to make the medication less appealing and unrecognizable—then put them in a sealable bag, empty can, or other container to prevent the medication from leaking or breaking out of a garbage bag.
Talk to your kids. It’s important that children learn about the use and abuse of prescription drugs.
Prescription Drug Take-Back Day occurs twice yearly in April and October. The Cedar City Police Department also haS a drug disposal box in its lobby for year-round disposal.
For more information, visit southwestprevention.com
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