JOAN JANUSZ, Guest Columnist
Posted: Friday, July 17, 2009 10:54 pm

Take what? Your outdated or unneeded medications-prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, animal medications

What box — where? A secure medication disposal box will be in the lobbies at both the Northfield and Faribault Police Departments. Starting on Tuesday, Sept. 22, there will be a box at both locations for 24-hour drop off by community residents. A certified disposal company will periodically safely destroy disposed medications. This is not at all related to a Federal Drug Take Back program recently in the local news.

Why? Prescription and over-the-counter medications are creating both a public health and an environmental issue. Mis-use/abuse of medications is an alarming and growing trend. Prescription drugs taken to alter mood are used more than any other illicit drug except marijuana. Too many teens and young adults are using medications not prescribed for them; pain killers such as OxyContin and Vicodin, anti-anxiety medications and stimulants. These can become gateway drugs to illicit drugs such as heroin. The Take It To The Box program is a way to get rid of any unneeded medications in family medicine cabinets or elsewhere in the home. Improper disposal of medications is also creating environmental issues by tainting groundwater, rivers and streams. Fish and other wildlife are showing signs of undesired changes due to exposure to medications.

Take It To The Box is a joint project of several community partners: Northfield Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Alcohol and Drug Use, Rice County Chemical Health Coalition, Northfield Healthy Communities Initiative, Rice County Public Health, Northfield and District One hospitals. Our community is serious about preventing medication misuse or abuse as well as protecting our environment from improper, unsafe medication disposal.

The project is also focusing on safe use of medications:

• Read and follow directions on all medications

• Take the recommended dose — not more, not less

• Don’t share your prescription medicine with another or take someone else’s medication

And safe storage:

• Keep all medications in a safe location that is unavailable to children, teens and guests

• Lock up narcotics or mood altering medicines

• Keep medicines in their original containers

• Follow proper storage directions

You may have seen information about this program at the Rice County Fair or in the Rice County Report newsletter. Stay tuned for more specific information and reminders about how to properly dispose of medications. The age old advice to flush medicines down the toilet is not safe. You can help yourself and your community by getting rid of old, unwanted, unneeded medications. It’s easy: Leave the medicine in its original container. Cross off your name or other personal information, but leave the name of the medication on the bottle. Then take it to the box! (starting Sept. 22). For more information go to www.northfieldhci.org or www.ricecountychc.com.



— Joan Janusz is a member of the Northfield Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Alcohol and Drug Use and active in the Take It To The Box project.