Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. To help residents prevent this, both the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood once again will be participating in the national Drug Take Back program this Saturday.
The City of Wyoming has partnered with Metro Health-University of Michigan Health to provide Drug Take Back services between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the main lobby of the Metro Health Hospital, 5900 Byron Center Ave. SW, or to the Wyoming Department of Public Safety, 2300 DeHoop Ave. SW.
Wyoming Public Safety officers will be on hand to anonymously accept medications, including controlled substances, with no questions asked. A pharmacist will be available at Metro Health throughout the event to answer questions about medications. Mercury thermometers also may be exchanged for a new digital thermometer from the City of Wyoming and Metro Health.
Metro Health and the City of Wyoming partner twice a year to provide this service to the community. This past October, the Drug Take Back Day event took in 502 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter drugs and 18 mercury thermometers.
The City of Wyoming also offers a prescription drug drop-off service 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, at its Public Safety offices in Wyoming. The service has been so well-received that a second drop-off box has been installed.
The Kentwood Police Department also will be offering Drug Take Back services from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at its department offices, 4742 Walma Ave. SE. Only pills or patches will be accepted at this location.
Those looking to get rid of sharps — the term for medical devices with sharp points or edges that can puncture or cut skin such as needles — should contact the Kent County Health Department about the Sharps program. For more information, visit http://www.reimaginetrash.org/material/sharps/.
Last fall, Americans turned in 456 tons (912,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at more than 5,300 sites operated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and almost 4,300 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 14 previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in more than nine million pounds—more than 4,500 tons—of pills.
According to the West Michigan Take Back Meds website, 20 percent to 60 percent of prescription medications go unused and are eventually disposed. A 2002 analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey of 139 streams across 30 states found that 80 percent of waterways tested had measurable concentrations of prescription and nonprescription drugs, steroids and reproductive hormones. For that and other safety and health hazard reasons, residents are discouraged from disposing unused medicines by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash. For more on West Michigan Take Back Meds, visit www.wmtakebackmeds.com.
