COLUMBIA, S.C. — October 24 is National Take Back Day in the US.
This is a day that many places around the country will collect unused, expired or unwanted medicine to be properly disposed of.
“What’s just so interesting to think about is that often the people that end up abusing or getting addicted to opioids- it’s usually their own prescription or a family member or friend’s prescription," says Dr. Nicole Bookstaver, a Pharmacist with Prisma Health.
Dr. Bookstaver says properly disposing of unused medicine instead of just throwing it away has many benefits, “For one, someone could find those tablets and whatnot in the trash, to begin with, but then there’s also some of the environmental concerns about landfills and water supplies and things like that and so these take-back days offer an opportunity for them to be collected in a safe manner by authorities and things like that to get rid of them in a safe manner.”
“Certainly this has been a time of chronic stress for many of us which include a lot of new directives such as social distancing, a lot of people feel isolated and certainly mental health issues are on the rise including overdoses," says Dr. Pam Imm, a community psychologist who says it’s important these drugs do not end up in the wrong hands.
“Making sure people don’t take them in ways that are dangerous is important and also necessary to get rid of them so the ease of access is really decreased," Dr. Imm told News19.
Multiple places will be participating in Take Back Day Saturday including Columbia Police, Irmo Police, West Columbia Police and many more. You can find a spot close to you here.