Safe Drug Disposal Can Save Lives

Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Sarah Dillivan-Pospisil | VolumeOne

The unused medications in your cabinet can lead to abuse or accidental poisoning. Here's how to get rid of them safely.

When was the last time you cleaned out your medicine cabinet? If you can't remember the last time you did this or if you've NEVER done this before, now is the time to get rid of expired and unused prescription medication. Unused medications left in your cabinet have the potential to fall into the hands of those who shouldn't be using them. This could lead to drug abuse or accidental positioning.

In Eau Claire County, 1 in 4 high school students reported prescription are easy to get without permission. They said they were able to get these prescriptions from friends, from within their own or relatives' homes. Proper medication disposal is one way to reduce the abuse of prescription medication.

Do your part! Keep your community safe by:

• Participating in the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 27 . Drop off your medications at the Marshfield Clinic Health System-Eau Claire Center from 10am-2pm. The goal of the Take Back Day is to provide a safe, convenient and responsible way to dispose of medications, while educating the community about the potential dangers for abuse and consequences of improper storage and disposal.

• Dropping off your medications at one of the five permanent medication drop-boxes located throughout Eau Claire County. All locations accept medications year-round. To view "how-to" videos for each of the drop-off locations, please visit getinvolvedASAP.org.

Altoona Emergency Services Building
1904 Spooner Ave.
Hours M-F, 7:30am-4pm
(715) 839-6090

Augusta City Hall
145 W. Lincoln St.
Hours M-F, 8am-4pm
(715) 286-2555

Fall Creek Village Hall
122 E. Lincoln Ave.
Hours M-F, 8am-4:30pm
(715) 877-2177

Eau Claire County Courthouse
Law Enforcement Center, 721 Oxford Ave.
Hours M-F, 8am-5pm
(715) 839-4709

Eau Claire County Jail
Lobby, Enter from Second Avenue
Hours M-F, 8am-4:30pm
(715) 839-4709

The health department's goal is to make our homes and communities safer by providing a place to dispose of unused prescription medication and make them less available for misuse. Securely storing prescription medication and properly disposing of them when they are no longer needed will reduce the number of people misusing them. For more information about the permanent medication drop-boxes in Eau Claire County or National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, visit getinvolvedasap.org or doseofrealitywi.gov.

Sarah Dillivan-Pospisil, CWWS, is a community health educator with the Eau Claire City-County Health Department.

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