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State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons, Coroner Steve Nonn, Sheriff Bob Hertz and the Drug Free Coalitions of Madison County are once again encouraging Madison County residents to bring their expired, or unwanted, prescription or over-the-counter medications to Edwardsville as part of the National Take-Back Initiative sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.
Photo by Roger Starkey
As part of Gibbons’ ongoing participation in the Lock Your Meds public outreach campaign, he again sponsoring a prescription drug collection site at the County Administration Building in Edwardsville with Nonn and Hertz as part of the upcoming National Take-Back Initiative scheduled for Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
The drop off location is the parking lot on 2nd Street, behind the County Administration Building at 157 N. Main St., Edwardsville. There will be free prescription lock bags to the first 25 individuals who bring their medications to the site.
Last October, over 647,000 pounds (324 tons) of prescription drugs were turned in across the United States at over 4,114 sites. In seven previous Take-Back Events, over 3.4 million pounds of pills (1,700 tons) have been collected nationwide.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.
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For more information, visit the State’s Attorney website at www.madco-sa.org. Other communities participating in National Take-Back Day include Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Bethalto, Highland and SIUE. More information on those locations can be found at http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html.
