National Drug Take Back Day at the Health Department

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – A day to turn in unused or expired medication for the purpose of throwing away safely.

The Annual National Drug Take Back Day event at the Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is aimed to provide a responsible way of disposing prescription drugs and also educating the public on the potential abuse of medications. All people had to do was drive through and the medications are simply taken from them, no need to even get out of their vehicle. The Health Department saw more than 100 cars pass through.

“We partner with all the community agencies to take medications off and out of people’s homes. We know that, especially with the opioid problem, a lot of people get their prescription medicine that’s not for them from other people’s homes. Either they go through the medicine cabinets or they share,” said CEO of Muskingum County Behavioral Health, Steve Carrel.

Prescription and over the counter tables, capsules, liquids, injectables, and needles were accepted. Medications could have been left in original containers, but it was not necessary. The event was free and anonymous, personal information was removed from the containers.

“We pull off the labels for confidentiality reasons. We dispose of the medications either it’s going to go to an incinerator that Northside Pharmacy picks up the tab for, or it’s going to go to the DEA, those are controlled substances,” Carrel added.

If you would like to turn in any medications for safe disposal, Muskingum County medication drop boxes are at the Muskingum County Jail, Northside Pharmacy, New Concord Police Department, and the Zanesville Police Department.