Mooresville ‘Pill Take Back’ Event Set For Oct. 28

MOORESVILLE, NC -- If you have old or unused prescription drugs lurking in the back of your medicine cabinet, the Mooresville Police Department is conducting a Pill Take Back Day Oct. 28.

The event, set to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mooresville’s Walmart located at 169 Norman Station Boulevard, is part of the National Drug Take Back campaign occurring throughout the U.S. that day aimed at removing potentially dangerous prescription drugs from homes and educating the public on pill abuse.

Drug Enforcement Agency launched the national event in 2010. According to MPD, the town has collected and destroyed 5,300 pounds of prescription drugs in the last two years. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news in Mooresville — or other neighborhoods. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

The Oct. 28 event is free and anonymous. MPD also has a drug drop box at the police department

Many medications can be disposed of in household trash, according to the Federal Drug Administration said.

Here are the FDA’s recommendations for drug disposal in household trash:

• Mix medicines (do not crush tablets or capsules) with an unpalatable substance such as dirt, kitty litter, or used coffee grounds;
• Place the mixture in a container such as a sealed plastic bag
• Throw the container in your household trash;
• Scratch out all personal information on the prescription label of your empty pill bottle or empty medicine packaging to make it unreadable, then dispose of the container.

Some medications, however, should be flushed because they could potentially be deadly with just one dose, according to FDA. “If these disposal options are not readily available, it is recommended that these medicines be flushed down the toilet as soon as they are no longer needed,” FDA said.

You can find a list of those medicines FDA suggests flushing here.

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