Clear out your medicine cabinet

KELLOGG — The Panhandle Health District will be hosting its annual Drug Take-Back Day this weekend inside Kellogg City Park.

The event is organized by PHD in partnership with Hauser Lake Fire Protection, Blue Cross of Idaho, and Kellogg City Park with the S.A.V.E Coalition — as an event to empty your medicine cabinet and help prevent the misuse of prescription medication in Idaho.

“This is confidential, no questions asked, drop off event,” said PHD Communication Manager and Public Information Officer Katherine Hoyer. “Someone is more than welcome to drop off and dispose of medications for someone who may not be able to make it to the event, such as a grandparent, or someone who does not live near a drop off location nearby.”

Hoyer continued to explain that the North Idaho region has two of the highest prescribing rates in the state, one of those being Shoshone County.

“Our goal is to make it as easy and convenient as possible to dispose of unused and expired medication so it cannot be used improperly,” Hoyer said.

The collection process for the event will be a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) approved box with a plastic liner that is sealed after collection and either mailed to the DEA for incineration or taken to local law enforcement agencies that have incineration capabilities that are within the DEA regulation/standard.

“Our law enforcement partners on-site take possession of the medications collected for safety reasons and proper disposal,” Hoyer said.

She further explained that unwanted medicines are deposited in metal collection bins specially designed to prevent theft at permanent drop-off locations. When unwanted medications are deposited into the bin, they drop into a plastic bucket or cardboard box. When that inner container is full, trained staff follows strict procedures to seal the box and send it to a secure storage facility. Once a shipment of boxes has accumulated in a safe storage area, the waste medicines are sent to a disposal facility, where they are destroyed by high-temperature incineration.

The health district also offers medication disposal pouches and medication lock boxes free to the community.

“Disposal pouches are easy to use at home, and can be thrown in the trash without harming the environment,” Hoyer said. “Lock boxes are a great way to keep your meds up and away from kiddos who may mistake them for candy or from others who may use them improperly.”

She explained that many people need to be made aware of permanent drop-off locations, so this event raises awareness about the disposal of unused and expired medication for these special events and the permanent location options. The events are also a way to raise awareness of the potential dangers of prescription opioid medication.

For more information on permanent drop-off locations, visit https://www.dea.gov/takebackday#collection-locator or call the DEA contact center at 202-307-1000.

The event will take place Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. at Kellogg City Park located at 2 Hill St.