CLEVELAND — *Editor's Note: The video in the player above is from a previous report.
Throughout the United States, substance misuse and unintentional overdoses continues to be a deadly problem.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the most misused prescriptions are most often obtained from family and friends, most frequently from home medicine cabinets. As a result, two Northeast Ohio healthcare systems are taking action.
On Monday, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals announced that together they would be hosting " Drug Take Back Day" on Saturday, April 30. Throughout the day, those wanting to drop off medications can visit 17 collection sites, that include two police stations.
“Providing the public with a safe and convenient way to remove unused medications from the home is an important step in reducing the risk of accidental drug exposures as well as preventing drug misuse. That is why we are committed to making drug disposal locations accessible on Drug Take Back Day and every day,” said Samuel Calabrese, Chief Pharmacy Officer at Cleveland Clinic.
The annual event gives the public an easy way to rid their homes of potentially dangerous, expired, unused and unwanted prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs. Many of these medical disposal locations are open year-round.
“This Drug Take Back Day is just one example of our joint approach to mitigating the opioid epidemic and reducing unintentional drug overdose deaths because medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse," said Champ Burgess, Chief Pharmacy Officer at UH.
Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals are accepting the following items at their collection sites:
- Prescription medications
- Over-the-counter medications
- Liquid medication in bottles (less than 4 ounces) – package bottles in a Ziploc® bag
The following items WILL NOT be accepted:
- Illegal or “street” drugs
- Needles, syringes or sharps containers
- Medical devices and batteries
- Aerosol cans and inhalers
- Mercury-containing devices
- Radiopharmaceuticals
- Liquid antineoplastic (chemo) agents
For a full list of University Hospital collection locations and times, click here. And for a full list of Cleveland Clinic collection locations and times, click here.
The public can also safely dispose of medications outside of this one-day event. Click here to visit UH’s nine year-round prescription drug collection sites. Cleveland Clinic has 16 medication disposal sites across Northeast Ohio. Information on locations and hours can be found here.
For information about addiction treatment services, click here to be connected with University Hospitals and click here to be linked to Cleveland Clinic.
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*Editor's Note: The video in the player above is from a previous report.