National Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day occurs annually on the third Friday in April. The day aims to raise awareness and effectively rid homes of unused or expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medications sitting around that have the potential for misuse or abuse by family members, friends, or visitors.
How you dispose of your expired or unused medications is just as important as why.
Environmental studies show that flushed medications flow into our water supply. They negatively impact the fish we eat and the water we drink. When discarded in the trash, medications leach into and contaminate the soil.
Prescription opioid misuse is an ongoing epidemic, and 70% of opioid dependence, overdoses and deaths begin with leftover drugs. Opioids are just one of the dangerous drugs found lying around our homes. Antidepressants, muscle-relaxers, sleep aids, ADHD, blood pressure, heart and even pet medications may also be harmful.
Unintended Risks of Unused Medications Include:
- Drug diversion and misuse/abuse
- Accidental ingestions/poisonings
- Medication confusion – which especially affects our senior population.
- Overdoses/suicides
- Antibiotic resistance
Bucks County’s take back event has over 48 “Drive Up and Drop In” collection sites. See the QR code for more information.
