The return of the semiannual MTSU drug take-back event sponsored by Campus Pharmacy and University Police will be from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22.
Expired, unused and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medicines will be accepted at a special drive-up location near the Campus Pharmacy drive-thru outside the Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center, 1848 Blue Raider Drive.
A variety of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications are shown during the MTSU Drug Take-Back Day in October 2019, near the Campus Pharmacy drive-thru outside the Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center on the east side of campus. More than 83 pounds was collected. A drug take-back event will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. (MTSU file photo by Randy Weiler)
The spring drug take-back day was canceled because of COVID-19. The pharmacy and MTSU Police hold these events to coincide with National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days, held twice a year.
On-site staff will be observing COVID-19 safety precautions (social distancing and wearing masks) to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, and request anyone dropping off medications by car or on foot to apply the same safeguards.
If possible, please leave medicines in their original packaging. For prescription medicines, black out any personally identifying information on the label. Unfortunately, organizers are unable to accept sharps (needles) at this event.
Lisa Schrader
Last fall, the campus take-back event removed more than 80 pounds of excess medications from the local community.
“Since we were unable to host an event this past spring, we hope this month’s take-back event can be even larger,” said Lisa Schrader, director of Health Promotion.
The drug take-back event is 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 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.
“This is important because the nonmedical use of controlled substance medications is at an all-time high,” Schrader said.
A study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration revealed more than 54% of people who abuse prescription pain relievers got them through friends or relatives, a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet.
October 2020 marks the 19th National Prescription Drug Take-Back initiative.
For more information, call 615-494-8704 or visit www.mtsu.edu/healthpro.
—Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)
MTSU Campus Pharmacy pharmacist Tabby Ragland, left, received an unwanted prescription drug from Olivia Beaudry, an archivist for the MTSU Center for Popular Music, during a recent MTSU Prescription Drug Take-Back Day at the pharmacy drive-thru outside the Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. This year’s drug take-back day will be from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. (MTSU file photo by Randy Weiler)
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