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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9/25/2015 12:00:00 AM EASTERN
Updated: 9/25/2015 10:22:46 AM EASTERN
For more information, contact John Broom.
Dispose of prescription medications Sept. 26 at ACMC

On Saturday, September 26, Ashtabula County Medical Center is giving you the chance to safely, and legally, dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can drop off any prescription drugs at ACMC, under the cement overhang (behind the garden) at the former main entrance of the hospital. Ashtabula Police Department will be on-hand to accept the drugs and remove the prescription medication after the event for disposal.

The four-hour program is part of a nationwide effort to safely dispose of prescription drugs. Since the program began seven years ago, Americans have turned in more than two million pounds of prescription drugs.

ACMC has collected more than 225 pounds of prescription medication in the past two years. The drugs collected ranged from out-of-date vitamins to prescription narcotics. Removing the prescription medication from circulation reduces the risk of drug abuse by adults and teenagers – a growing problem in Ashtabula County.

It also reduces the risk accidental poisoning.

Across Ohio 96% of unintentional poisoning deaths are from drugs and prescription medications. More people in the state die from unintentional medication poisoning than from motor vehicle crashes and suicide.

The safe disposal of prescription also helps the environment.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) guidelines, no sewage treatment facility is designed to remove pharmaceuticals that are flushed or washed down the drain. These drugs make their way into local rivers and lakes, and eventually into our water supply.

The prescription drug disposal day is supported by local law enforcement agencies as well as the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration and the Ohio EPA. Officers with the Ashtabula City Police are assisting again this year.

Only residential medications will be accepted, and items for disposal cannot be accepted after 2 p.m. Participants are encouraged to remove the label or black out the text on the container to protect their private health information.

 

 

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