17.6 lbs. of drugs ‘off the streets’
For Amy Edwards, the twice-a-year Drug Take Back campaigns Sallisaw NOW Coalition sponsors along with the Sallisaw Police Department and Clif’s Pharmacy, the collection of unused or expired medication for safe disposal is a marathon rather than a 100-yard dash.
Because of city’s take-back event
For Amy Edwards, the twice-a-year Drug Take Back campaigns Sallisaw NOW Coalition sponsors along with the Sallisaw Police Department and Clif’s Pharmacy, the collection of unused or expired medication for safe disposal is a marathon rather than a 100-yard dash.
As a marathon runner herself, Edwards, prevention services director for Sallisaw NOW Coalition, knows consistency is key and focusing on why the marathon is run.
The same applies to the Drug Take Back events. It’s really not a competition, it’s making sure the opportunity is available, ensuring medications don’t end up in the wrong hands.
“We gathered 17.6 pounds of prescription — and even nonprescription — medications,” Edwards reports of the Oct. 28 event. “Sometimes that number is bigger, and, at times, smaller, but either way, that’s over 17 pounds off the streets.”
How much is 17.6 pounds of medication. One pill or tablet, about the size and weight of an aspirin, isn’t much by itself. But collectively, 17.6 pounds is estimated to be more than 50,000 pills.
“We stress how important these take-back events are for the simple fact that if someone has extra medications lying around, especially narcotics, and if they have small children who pick one up and take it, it could be deadly,” Edwards points out.
While sponsoring the collection days in October and April provides top-of-mind awareness to dispose of unused and unneeded medication, the collection days remind others that disposal resources are available.
“We believe that most of the time, even if people walk by and don’t have any medicine to get rid of, they learn of the resource and how to properly get rid of their old or unused medicines besides throwing them in the trash or flushing them down the toilet,” Edwards says. “We let them know of the three prescription drug drop boxes we have in Sequoyah County. Those are at the Sallisaw Police Department, Roland Police Department and Gore Police Department, all located in the lobbies. You simply walk in, put your medicine in the box and that’s it, no removing labels or anything.” The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics also provides take-back kiosks at Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office; Muldrow Police Department; and Redbird Pharmacy, 301 S. J.T. Stiles Street in Sallisaw.
“We also use our event to let community members know that we have prescription drug lock boxes and Deterra — a bag that you dump medicine in, add water, seal up and toss — available, as well as Narcan, or Naloxone is another name that it goes by,” she says. Deterra and Narcan are available for free at Sallisaw NOW Coalition, 101 N. Wheeler Avenue, in the chamber of commerce building.
At the previous take-back event in April, Edwards says 70.5 lbs. of medication was collected and safely disposed of by Stericycle. “We had a really great turnout,” she says of the April event, and adds that the dropbox at Clif’s “was so full, it was coming out the top.” The dropboxes look like the familiar standalone mailboxes.
The take-back event is anonymous, even though labels may have a person’s name on them. “It all gets destroyed, nobody sees it. There’s no sign-up sheets, there’s no information that we collect, they can just drop it off and turn around and walk away. They don’t even have to talk to anybody,” says Heather Silva, community educator for Sallisaw NOW Coalition.
The next take-back event in Sallisaw is April 28.
