Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By RICHARD JENKINS
Area residents will have the opportunity to dispose of any unwanted medicine Saturday as Wisconsin is holding another Drug Take Back Day.
“Drug Take Back Day provides a safe, convenient and responsible means of disposal, while educating the community about the potential abuse and consequences of improper storage and disposal of these medications,” according to a Wisconsin Department of Justice press release.
“Unused or expired medicine should never be flushed or poured down the drain. Water reclamation facilities are not designed to remove all of them and trace amounts of pharmaceuticals are showing up in rivers and lakes.”
Local drop-off sites include White Cross Pharmacy in Hurley, the Iron County Sheriff’s Department doorway and the Haines Building in Mercer.
The waste pharmaceuticals must be generated by a household, rather than a business.
The drop-off sites are accepting prescription and over-the-counter medications, ointments, patches, inhalers, non-aerosol sprays, creams, vials and pet medications.
Illegal drugs, needles and other sharp objects, acids, aerosol cans, bio-hazardous materials, such as bodily fluids or blood, personal care products, such as shampoos or soaps, mercury thermometers and household hazardous wastes aren’t being accepted.
In a June 23 interview with the Daily Globe, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel talked about the seriousness of the opiate and prescription pill problem.
“We know that 70 percent of the people who start abusing prescription medications get them from a family member or a friend,” Schimel said. “They either steal them, or they are shared with them.
“We need people to realize that prescription medications are for you, and only in the way the doctor intended for you to take them. Don’t share them. Don’t abuse them.”
Wisconsin had the third most drugs returned at its April collection event — beaten only by Texas and California — with over 64,000 pounds collected statewide.
“That’s three semi-trucks full of boxed-up and shrink-wrapped pallets,” Schimel said.
Participants are asked to dispose of solid medications by removing it from the container and either disposing it directly into a disposal box or in a clear, sealable bag. While plastic pill containers aren’t being collected, blister packages still containing medication are acceptable.
While liquids, creams and sprays are being accepted during the collection, according to the release, they must be in their original packaging.
Illicit substances, such as marijuana and methamphetamine, aren’t being accepted during the collection.
More information on the dangers of prescription abuse can be found at doseofrealitywi.gov.
