Lawmakers, Community Agencies, Provide 600 Safe Drug Disposal Pouches

MADISON, CT —State Sen. Christine Cohen, State Rep. John-Michael Parker and the Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative announced a donation of 600 safe drug disposal pouches to be distributed by demandZERO in conjunction with Madison Youth and Family Services.

RALI, a coalition dedicated to sharing effective solutions to end the opioid epidemic, works with partner organizations across the country to support programs focused on substance misuse prevention, treatment, and recovery.

demandZERO is a community organization committed to eliminating substance misuse in the Madison community.

“Understanding how prescription drugs can be safely disposed of in the home is a crucial step in preventing misuse,” Cohen said. “The best way to combat prescription drug addiction is to prevent it before it takes hold. Thanks to RALI and demandZERO, Madison communities have access to resources that will help them do just that.”

The safe drug disposal pouches can be used to discard of unused or unneeded prescription drugs. By simply placing pills, medicated patches, or medicated liquid in the pouch and mixing with water, they become safe to throw in the trash.

“The opioid crisis has touched every community across our state,” Parker said. “That’s why it is so important that every one of us takes action to help prevent addiction by safely disposing of their prescription drugs in a safe manner.”

The Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative supports programs that help prevent the misuse of prescription medicines so that more lives can be saved from the opioid crisis. It does this by bringing together community leaders and elected officials who are committed to finding effective solutions and sharing ideas that will make a difference across the state.

“At demandZERO, we know that reducing access to unused prescription drugs is critical to addiction prevention. The need for these at-home safe drug disposal resources couldn’t be higher, so we’re glad to partner with RALI to make them available to our community,” said Lisa Deane, Founder and Director of demandZERO.

Learn more about safe disposal and more ways to address the opioid epidemic atraliusa.org.