Drug Take-Back Event In Huntersville Set For Oct. 26

HUNTERSVILLE, NC — Lake Norman area residents who want to safely dispose of old or near-empty bottles of prescription medication will soon have an opportunity to do just that. Huntersville Police Department is hosting “Operation Medicine Drop” on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Walmart in Huntersville from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Here’s what HPD says about how to prepare for the event:

• Prior to leaving your home, empty all pill bottles into a zip-lock bag for disposal, or you may empty your bottles on site.
• We will no longer take the plastic medicine bottles with pills (all bottles must be emptied prior to delivery or upon delivery).
• We will no longer take inhalers or liquid medications (you can mix your liquid medications with cat litter or flour, then place it in the trash can).
• We will no longer accept medications from businesses (veterinary clinics, assisted living centers or medical offices).
• Although over the counter medications are not our focus, we will still take the pill forms of these items.

Last October, 81 law enforcement agencies in North Carolina participated in take-back events, collecting about 30,000 pounds of drugs from around the state, according to the DEA.
Included in the haul are ever-higher amounts of opioids, the DEA said. Though prescribed for pain management, these highly addictive drugs can be stolen and abused by family members and visitors, including children and teens.

In 2016, opioids were involved in 42,249 overdose deaths, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overdose deaths were five times higher in 2016, the latest year for which statistics are available, than they were in 1999.

The majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet, the DEA said.

Other methods of disposal — throwing unused drugs out with the trash or flushing them down the toilet — can cause environmental damage, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

But it's not just opioids that pose dangers. Expired prescription drugs can be less effective or risky due to changes over time in chemical composition. Some expired medications are at risk of bacterial growth, according to the Food and Drug Administration. Expired antibiotics may not treat infections, leading to more serious illnesses and antibiotic resistance, the DEA said.

The drugs must have been prescribed to a member of your household. Illegal drugs can't be disposed of during the events, nor can syringes and needles. More information is available here.

Patch Editor Beth Dalbey contributed