Big Sandy Pharmacy, located at 158 Johannes Avenue, has recently installed a secure drug disposal box. This box allows people in and around the community to dispose of unwanted and unneeded prescriptions and controlled substances in a manner that is both anonymous and safe for the environment. It is as simple as walking into the pharmacy during business hours and placing the pill bottles in the disposal bin.

Unused prescription and over the counter medicines pose a risk to our families, communities and environment. To prevent the misuse, medicines should be stored safely in the home, and properly disposed when no longer needed.

Throwing medicines away in the trash or flushing them down the toilet are not safe or appropriate disposal practices. Medicine take back programs are part of a comprehensive approach to preventing prescription drug abuse, as well as a secure and environmentally sound way to dispose of leftover or expired medications.

In addition, there are concerns about unused medications getting into the wrong hands. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that one U.S. citizen dies every 16 minutes from a drug overdose and has declared this public health threat an epidemic. The MedSafe allows the Big Sandy community have an active role in the fight against the nationwide epidemic of opiate and heroin abuse.