Public Safety partnered with the Counseling and Wellness center to add a new drug disposal box in the dispatch office at 060 Allyn Hall. The box is a simple and secure way for students to safety dispose of leftover medications, addressing substance abuse in the area.
What is the disposal box?
Disposing of old medications properly is crucial. Many people either flush their medications, toss them in the trash, or leave them lying around, all of which can lead to misuse, overdoses, theft, and environmental damage.
If you have old medication, you can bring them to the office and drop them off in the box, and that is all you have to do. Once the box is full, a company comes to remove the medicine and properly, safely destroys them.
This initiative is a partnership with PreventionFIRST!, a nonprofit organization focused on addressing substance abuse in the tri-state area. The organization has multiple centers for prevention, including Prescription Drug Abuse.
“The purpose of this area of focus is to identify and examine the conditions and variables that are indicators of the prescription/OTC drug abuse epidemic, [and to] highlight prevention efforts to help communities understand and address the issue,” their website reads.
The website also provides and highlights resources in Ohio at little to no cost.
Purpose of the disposal box
Substance abuse is a significant issue in the U.S., affecting not only individuals intentionally misusing drugs but also those who accidentally take the wrong medications.
Sara Baker, the wellness and health program manager, shared why it is so important to get rid of your drugs instead of holding onto them.
“Unused medication at home increases the risk of misuse, overdose and theft. Most misused prescriptions come from family and friends,” Baker said.
The only real way to get rid of old medication is by taking it to a proper disposal site where it will be picked up and destroyed by the appropriate people. In addition to fears of people overdosing on medication, flushing or throwing out medication also poses a threat to our environment.
Barbara Marsh, the Director of Counseling and Wellness at WSU, shared the dangerous side effects of being lazy with drug disposal.
“When people flush medicine down the toilet, it can get into the water system and contaminate our drinking water and landfills,” Marsh said.
Do your part
The drug drop-off box is a very convenient way for students to get rid of their medications without having to find their own disposal site. However, if students are not able to bring the medicine to campus, the Counseling and Wellness office is offering a different way for students to dispose of their medicine.
Students can pick up Deterra pouches, which are little bags of drug deactivation supplies. All you have to do is open the pouch, put the medicine in, add water and shake. You can then dump out the contents safely, as the medicine will be broken down and dissolved.
Dan Doherty, a police officer on campus, talked about the impacting he was hoping to see in the community.
“From a safety aspect, accidents can happen. Kids can get a hold of medicine; people can take expired medicine and accidentally overdose. It’s safer to just get rid of it.,” Doherty said.
Be sure to stop by the dispatch office to grab some Deterra pouches and dump out old medicine. You could be saving a life!
