Prescription Drug Take-Back Nets 654 in Region

Moundsville, WV – The Marshall County Family Resource Network (FRN) launched a new campaign to promote the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on April 30, 2011. The Safe Storage. Smart Disposal Campaign was launched in 16 counties throughout the region as part of United in Prevention. The campaign focused on safe and responsible ways to dispose of prescription drugs both at home and through take-back events.

The Take-Back Day held on April 30, 2011 collected 654 pounds of prescription drugs throughout the region (only 10 counties reporting). This is a huge step in preventing prescription drug abuse and misuse.

The FRN would like to thank the law enforcement agencies and community partners that volunteered to host the collection sites in Marshall County including the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, WV State Police Detachment in Moundsville, and the Cameron Volunteer Fire Department.

National Take-Back Days are hosted twice a year. On these days, the community can take unused, unwanted, or expired prescription drugs to a collection site for disposal. The service is free and anonymous. The effort is to get commonly abused prescription drugs out of circulation.

On a national level, the Take-Back event on April 30^th turned in more than 376,593 pounds (188 tons) of medications for safe and proper disposal through 5,361 take-back collection sites across all 50 states. This is 55 percent more than the 242,000 pounds returned nationally last year.

Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high—more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined, according to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies show that teens who abuse prescription drugs often obtain them from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many people do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.

The Safe Storage. Smart Disposal Campaign materials can be downloaded online by visiting United in Prevention’s website. If anyone is interested in learning more about how to safely store and dispose of prescription drugs, please visit www.unitedinprevention.com.

United in Prevention is a regional collaboration in substance abuse prevention lead by the FRN. United in Prevention serves Marshall, Ohio, Brooke, Hancock, Wetzel, Tyler, Pleasants, Wood, Wirt, Calhoun, Gilmer, Ritchie, Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, and Monongalia counties.

The Marshall County FRN is a non-profit organization that is helping to make Marshall County a better place to live and work. For more information on the FRN or United in Prevention, the public may contact the Marshall County FRN at (304) 845-3300 or visit www.marshallcountyfrn.com.