More than 900 Clark County residents handed over 1,600 pounds of unwanted medications to law enforcement and volunteers last weekend.
The Saturday drug take-back event offered residents three sites to dispose of prescription and over-the-counter medications. During the four-hour event, 921 people discarded 1,654 pounds of medicines.
The busiest drop site was the Kaiser Permanente Cascade Park medical office, where 423 people disposed of 823 pounds of pills. The other two sites were PeaceHealth Memorial Health Center in Vancouver and the Battle Ground Police Department.
All pills were separated from plastic containers. The pills will be incinerated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Kaiser is recycling plastic pill bottles.
Unused medications left in the home increase the opportunity for drug abuse, according to a news release from Clark County Public Health.
More than half of people 12 years or older who used pain relievers for nonmedical reasons report getting the drug from a friend or relative. Reducing access could lead to lower overdose death rates, which have increased nearly 140 percent since 2000, according to public health.
Unwanted medications can be disposed of year-round at several collection sites across Clark County. Controlled substances, such as tranquilizers and painkillers, can be taken to participating law enforcement agencies. Noncontrolled substances, such as over-the-counter medicines, can be taken to participating pharmacies.
For more information about both types of disposal, visit www.recyclinga-z.com and search “medications.”
Unused medications should never be flushed down the toilet or dumped down the drain because they can contaminate wastewater systems, according to public health officials.
The take-back event was a community partnership between law enforcement, medical providers, substance abuse prevention groups and local schools.
