Fishers students holding Drug Take Back Day

Hamilton Southeastern High School and Fishers High School students will give the public its 16th opportunity in seven years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. This drug take back will be completed in coordination with the Fishers Police Department.

Bring your unwanted prescription drugs for disposal from 8 a.m. to noon and from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3, to Billericay Park in Fishers. The site cannot accept needles. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. You must be over 18 to drop off medication.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines – flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash – both pose potential safety and health hazards.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the Oct. 3 Take Back Day event, contact Soham Patil at sohampatil20@gmail.com or 317-315-7789.