Youth council invites you to trade old prescription drugs for doughnuts
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AMMON — Do you have old prescription drugs in your medicine cabinet?
Now is a good time to get rid of them and get a doughnut in the process. The Bonneville Youth Development Coalition has organized an old prescription drug drop-off event to help people dispose of old medications safely. The event will be held between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Wednesday in front of Broulim’s.
The event is co-sponsored by the Bonneville Country Sheriff’s office and the Community Coalitions of Idaho.
Mallory Johnson, the coalition’s program director, said the group tries to set up two of these disposal events every year to prevent old medications from harming the environment and to protect against medication abuse.
“A lot of times prescriptions, when not properly disposed of, can increase … the potential for misuse,” Johnson tells EastIdahoNews.com.
The youth council said there are always concerns about the drugs falling into the hands of children or teens. The 2019 Idaho Healthy Youth Survey reports 60% of Idaho teens who had misused prescription drugs in the past six months did so within their own homes.
Those who come to the event can also take a one-page survey testing their knowledge of local drop-box locations around them. Anyone who takes the survey will receive a free timer cap for their prescription bottles that will tell them exactly when the bottle was last opened. The device can also help parents know if others are going into their medicine, or help remind the elderly when they have last taken their own.
A similar take-back event will happen in October of this year.
For more information of how to safely dispose of your medications, visit the Idaho Office of Drug Policy website, which will allow you to enter your zip code and see where the closest drug take-back locations are near you, or the Bonneville Youth Development Council website.
“We are just hoping to reduce the misuse of prescription medications,” Johnson added.