Central New Yorkers can empty their medicine cabinets for the national DEA Drug Take Back Day this Saturday. It's a chance to remove a potential health hazard from your home.
The left-over medication you might still have in the cabinet for that head ache or back pain is a hazard for drug misuse and abuse. Outdated and unused prescription and non-prescription drugs can be a danger, especially if they get into the hands of children.
You can return them this weekend at the DEA Drug Take Back Day sponsored by Kinney Drugs and law enforcement. Kinney Drugs Director of Patient Outcomes Doctor Shannon Miller says prescription drug abuse has been a big factor in the opioid crisis.
"A lot of opiod abuse starts with prescription opiod use. It's important to get medications like that out of the medicine cabinet to hopefully minimize those risks of diversion and potential opiod abuse."
Officials say in the U.S. Prescription drug abuse is at an all-time high. Miller suggests there can be problems with both drugs prescribed to you and ones you buy over-the-counter.
"The controlled substances... they're risk for diversion-- someone who it was not prescribed to potentially coming across it and that way increasing the risk for use, especially with opiods. And if it's not disposed of properly, then there could be environmental issues."
For example, flushing unused medications down the toilet or throwing them away pose potential health and environmental hazards.
Kinney Drugs will host Drug Take Back Day at stores in the area this Saturday from 10 to 2.
Three CNY WalMart stores are also participating: 6438 Basile Rowe, East Syracuse; 3018 East Ave., Central Square; and 341 State Route 104, Oswego.
Editor's Note: Kinney Drugs is a financial supporter of WAER.