Duane Hicks
Seeing a better than ever response this year, the fifth-annual “Medicine Cabinet Cleanout Contest” organized by the local seniors’ coalition wrapped up at the end of March.
District residents were encouraged to take all their out-of-date or unused medications they don’t need anymore, bring them to their local pharmacy for safe and free disposal, and enter a draw to win a prize.
This time around, 83 participants dropped off some 122.5 pounds in medications and vitamins.
“It’s a substantial change,” said Becky Holden, a public health educator with the Northwestern Health Unit and chair of the local seniors’ coalition.
“We had a really great response this year,” she enthused. “One person returned 30 pounds of stuff.
“It’s really exciting to see that people were taking advantage of this opportunity to clean out their medicine cabinets and returning vitamins, supplements, over-the-counter medication, not just prescription medication, which is good,” Holden added.
“It’s important we get it all out of our medicine cabinets if we’re not using it, or it’s expired and not safe to use,” she stressed.
Last year, more than 50 people turned in about 40 pounds of medication. In 2008, 54 people turned in total of 55 pounds.
In its first year (2006), 106 pounds were turned in.
Participating pharmacies included Pharmasave Downtown, the Fort Frances Clinic Dispensary, Shoppers Drug Mart, Emo Drugs, Atikokan Pharmacy, and the ones at Safeway and Wal-Mart.
Each of them had a draw for a prize (a $25 gift card).
Given the contest has been running five years, Holden said the level of response was a little surprising.
“We had been seeing some decline,” she noted. “Part of the message is to remind people to be cleaning out their medicine cabinets all the time, not just for the month of March.
“I think that message was getting out there and numbers were declining—we thought people were doing it all the time.
“It’s kind of surprising to see such an overwhelming response,” Holden admitted. “It showed us the need to continue to share that message.
“And I think also there is a greater awareness around some of our community issues of prescription drug abuse,” she added.
“I think that elevates people’s awareness, reminding them there’s a possibility of theft.
“There’s a lot of prescriptions that are attractive [to thieves],” Holden warned.
“I would rather see people bring them in to us so we can get rid of them properly,” said Canada Safeway pharmacist David Schwartz, who also is a member of the seniors’ coalition.
“It’s good to see the medications not just laying around at home when they don’t need to be.
“It prevents all those problems—mixing up medications, taking expired medications in error, all that sort of thing,” Schwartz added.
“I am really glad to see people are realizing they can bring them here and we can get rid of them properly.”
While the contest itself only ran for the month of March, all area pharmacies will accept old medications (as well as used needles) that people bring in year-round.
“If people missed the March deadline, no big deal—they can still bring them in.” Schwartz said.
“No problems at all.”
