WADESBORO — Safe Kids Anson will host Operation Medicine Drop on Saturday, March 25th from 9:00 am until 11:00 am in Food Lion parking lot in Wadesboro. Bring your unused or expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines to Food Lion for safe disposal. Syringes and needles will not be accepted for collection.
The average North Carolinian fills 17 prescriptions annually and studies show that as much as 40% of the drugs dispensed are never used. Abuses of unused and/or expired prescription medications is a public health issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose, and abuse, as well as contaminating our water system. Poisoning is the number one cause of injury-related deaths in the United States. The latest statistics show that the rate of unintentional poisoning deaths in children ages 0-14 in North Carolina decreased by 28% from 2004-2018. However, children ages 0-4 are still at a greater risk of poisoning death.
In the last several years, 6 in 10 poisoning deaths were caused by prescription, over-the-counter medication, or illicit drugs according to data collected from the Centers for Disease Control.
Operation Medicine Drop is a partnership of Safe Kids North Carolina, the Riverkeepers of North Carolina, NC State Bureau of Investigation, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of North Carolina, and local law enforcement agencies working together to encourage the public to safely dispose of unused, unwanted, and expired medication. For additional information please contact LeAnn Melton Johnson at (704) 694-4036.