NORTH READING — The North Reading Police and North Reading Community Impact Team’s Youth Substance Use Prevention Coalition remind residents to never flush pharmaceutical medications, vitamins or pet medications down the toilet.
Flushing any of these medications pollutes our waterways.
But it’s also crucial to keep medications out of the hands of youths or anyone else for whom they have not been prescribed because according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), unused or expired medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse. The non-medical use of prescription drugs ranks second only to marijuana as the most common form of drug abuse in the nation.
According to Drug-Free Communities Grant Director Amy Luckiewicz, there are four ways that residents can keep their expired or unused medications out of waterways and out of the hands of those who should not be taking them:
1. Through an ongoing partnership between the NRPD, the CIT’s Youth Substance Use Prevention Coalition, and the DEA, Rx Drug Take-Back Days are held in town semi-annually every April and October. Held as a drive-through event on a Saturday morning at the Edith O’Leary Senior Center, participants simply drop off these medications from their car window to a volunteer in the parking lot and exit via Haverhill Street. The NRPD takes possession of the drugs and has them destroyed. More than 201 pounds of unused medications were collected this past April in just a few hours to bring the total collection of drugs taken out of the waste stream to 3,710 pounds since 2017. Rx Drug Take-Back events are held nation-wide via the DEA with similar results in countless communities.
2. Drop off your unused drugs and pet meds to NRPD’s 24/7 Drug Drop Off Box. “We’re happy that these special Take Back Days do so well, but residents don’t need to wait for these days,” noted Luckiewicz. “The North Reading Police Drug Drop-Off kiosk is open all day, every day, and residents don’t need an appointment to drop off their unused drugs into the kiosk!” The kiosk is located in the lobby of the North Reading Police Station at 150 Park St.
3. The CIT provides free drug deactivation bags for the safe disposal of drugs. These bags contain chemicals to render drugs inactive and they are suitable for pills, patches, and liquid medications. The sealable bags can then be disposed of safely in the trash. This is a great option for homebound residents. Deactivation bags can also be delivered to any Meals on Wheels client in town, in partnership with the Edith O’Leary Senior Center. They are also available at the North Reading Food Pantry, 150 Haverhill St., in the foyer in Town Hall near the community information booth, and they can be delivered to home mailboxes.
4. The CIT offers free medication lock boxes to North Reading residents. The lock boxes are one tool to help keep medications and adult-use marijuana out of reach and safely stored.
All of these options are designed to keep medications safe, while also raising awareness of the need to do so. This year, the CIT partnered with the North Reading Sustainability Committee to raise awareness about keeping drugs out of waterways. “Flushing medications can create a negative environmental impact, and we’re reading more and more about pharmaceutical pollution,” Luckiewicz explained.
To receive a free drug deactivation bag or free lock box, contact Amy Luckiewicz at coalition@northreadingma.gov or call 978-357-5054.