How To Safely Dispose Of Old or Un-used Prescription Medication

The Sallisaw Now Coalition in conjunction with the Roland Police Department is providing a medication disposal drop box at the Roland Police Department located at 300-B South Roland Road.

The drop box is part of The Sallisaw Now Coalition’s mission to provide secure and convenient disposal options in Sequoyah County for the safe disposal of unused prescription drugs.

When not disposed of properly, unused prescription medications can pose a health danger if they are accessed by a child who could accidentally overdose or if they fall into the hands of someone who will try to illegally sell the medications.

According to the Sallisaw NOW Coalition, 238 pounds of prescription drugs were collected at the Sallisaw drop box from January through October 2020. The Sallisaw drop box is located at the Sallisaw Police Department located at 101 West Chickasaw Avenue in Sallisaw.

The Impact of Opioid Abuse

According to Think Smart Oklahoma, the consequences of opioid abuse including missed workdays and healthcare costs, adds up to approximately $78 billion per year in the United States.

Think Smart Oklahoma also notes that in 2018 there were 46,802 deaths across the U.S. as a result of opioid overdoses.

The trend of overdose-related deaths appears to be growing worse in America. The Associated Press reports that overall (including opioids as well as other drugs) drug overdose deaths “got much worse” from 2019 to 2020 with 81,000 drug overdose deaths reported in the United States between May, 2019 and May, 2020.

Conclusion:

Sequoyah County residents have options for disposing of their unused prescription medications.

Along with the Roland location, the Sallisaw NOW Coalition now has 3 prescription drug takeback boxes available to Sequoyah County residents with the other take back boxes located at the Gore and Sallisaw police departments.

On each takeback box you will find a QR code that when scanned with your smart phone will take you to the Sallisaw NOW website where you can find additional prevention information.

For more information contact the Sallisaw NOW Coalition at 918-208-0733 or visit the Sallisaw NOW Coalition online at https://sallisawnow.megaphonepro.net/

Writter By Lance Montgomery]