By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
When you look in your medicine cabinet, how many old prescription bottles are looking back at you? Maybe there are some pain pills for post surgery recovery. Or maybe there’s some antibiotic you forgot to finish as you recovered from an infection.
Wood County residents now have a save way to dispose of old prescriptions.
Deterra drug pouches that deactivate drugs are being given away by the Wood County Educational Service Center. The zip-lock pouches deactivate drugs effectively, safely and quickly, according to Milan Karna, program coordinator with Wood County Prevention Coalition.
“The compounds of the drugs are rendered useless by the carbon inside,” Karna said.
Though some drug drop-offs are available at law enforcement agencies in the county, the Deterra packets can be used at home. The pouch top is ripped off, drugs poured in, water added, then zipped tight and disposed. Liquid medications can also be placed in the pouches. The packets are biodegradable, Karna said.
This option is better than throwing pills in the trash or flushing them down the toilet, where the medications can make it into waterways, he said. And it’s much better than keeping old prescriptions in the medicine cabinet, where they can be tempting to kids – even good kids.
Across the nation, prescription meds like these are finding their way into “skittles” parties, according to Andrea Boxill, deputy director of the Governor’s Cabinet Opiate Action Team. Kids collect random pills from home and make a potluck of them at parties.
An estimated 2,500 juveniles start taking opioids every day – and many of those are prescription drugs, Karna said.
“We don’t want someone to go down the path of those unintended consequences,” he said.
And it’s not advisable to share drugs with others, or use expired drugs yourself, he added.
The Wood County Educational Service Center partnered with donors to get more than a thousand of the Deterra packets. They are being given away at the center in Bowling Green. Karna is also hoping to make the packets available through partners in the county, such as the health district, law enforcement offices and food pantries.
Anyone interested in getting a Deterra packet can contact Karna at mkarna@wcesc.org or 419-354-9010.
