MTSU Prescription Drug Take-Back Day nets 62 pounds of old medications

Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy students Kaitlyn Monsue, left, and Abby Sparkman, Campus Police officer Vergena Forbes and Campus Pharmacy’s Tabby Ragland await delivery of unwanted medicines by people in the community Thursday, April 22, outside the Health, Wellness and Recreation Center on Blue Raider Drive. The 5½-hour collection time resulted in 71.7 pounds of medications that can be properly disposed of in the coming weeks. (MTSU photo by Randy Weiler)

Middle Tennessee State University officials collected nearly 62 pounds of medications during the biannual Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on campus Thursday, Oct. 19, as part of a national drive.

The public contributed 61.7 pounds, said Susan Martin, pharmacy extern (recent pharmacy school graduate). This included 37.6 pounds of over-the-counter, 22. 6 pounds of prescription medications and 1.5 pounds of controlled substances.

The event is a partnership between Campus Pharmacy, University Police and Student Health Services. Campus Police Specialist Leroy Carter assisted with the drive.

Expired, unused and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medicines were accepted from the campus community and the general public.

Middle Tennessee State University Campus Pharmacy pharmacist Tabby Ragland, right, carries expired and unwanted medications to the proper containers in April 2023, during the spring MTSU Drug Take-Back Day event, held near the Campus Pharmacy drive-thru outside the Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. Assisting her at the event and the entire month of April was Lindsey McInturff of Nashville, Tennessee, a then-fourth-year Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy student. Campus Police and Pharmacy and the MTSU Stormwater Project coordinate the event. The fall drug take-back day will be from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19. (MTSU file photo by Randy Weiler) — Middle Tennessee State University Campus Pharmacy pharmacist Tabby Ragland, right, carries expired and unwanted medications to the proper containers in April 2023, during the spring MTSU Drug Take-Back Day event, held near the Campus Pharmacy drive-thru outside the Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. Assisting her at the event and the entire month of April was Lindsey McInturff of Nashville, Tennessee, a then-fourth-year Lipscomb University College of Pharmacy student. Campus Police and Pharmacy and the MTSU Stormwater Project coordinate the event. The fall drug take-back day netted nearly 62 pounds of old meds on Thursday, Oct. 19. (MTSU file photo by Randy Weiler)

Event organizers asked participants to leave medicines in their original packaging. For prescription medications, they were asked to black out any personally identifying label information. No sharps (needles) were accepted.

This event was part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s overall efforts to remove excess drugs from communities where they could be abused or misused, diverted into the wrong hands or disposed of in environmentally unsafe ways.

The event, part of a national Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, aims to provide a safe, secure and environmentally responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse and trafficking of medications.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)