Hundreds more pounds of unneeded medications were cleared out of medicine cabinets at the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s second medication clean-up event, this one in Harrisburg.
About 200 people dropped off more than 400 pounds of prescription and over-the-counter medications at the clean-up, held Aug. 7 in Lower Paxton Township near Harrisburg. In addition, more than 12,450 doses of narcotics were dropped off.
Pharmacist volunteers were on hand to collect the drugs and a waste contractor ensured that they were disposed of properly.
The event also was sponsored by Drug Free Pennsylvania and the Dauphin County Medical Society.
Every day, thousands of teenagers use someone else’s prescription drugs to get high for the first time. Cleaning leftover prescriptions out of medicine cabinets can help reduce that number.
In addition to curbing teenagers’ abuse of prescription drugs, the medication clean-up campaign will prevent medication duplication by seniors confused over which drugs to take.
PAMED’s long-term goal in collaborating with Drug Free PA on this pilot campaign is to develop a guide to help community organizations organize medication clean-up events that manage unused medications appropriately and dispose of them in an ecologically friendly manner.