I was visiting my mother for the weekend and, of course, forgot my toothbrush. I knew that Mom would have at least a dozen, brand new, waiting for me in the linen closet. She likes to be prepared, and I love her for it. I opened the door to the closet and looked for a toothbrush, moving aside a few bottles of shampoo and deodorant. That’s when I saw the four prescription bottles, still mostly full. Being the nosy child I am, I picked one up. Oxycodone. The next bottle was Demerol. My eyes widened involuntarily, and I set the bottle back in the basket. I went straight to my mother.
I should mention that my mother has every right to have these medications. Both of her knees were replaced this year, and both medications were prescribed legitimately. In her case, however, the time period of severe pain passed quickly, and she found that ibuprofen worked sufficiently for the pain she now occasionally experienced. Therefore, the bottles of medications were nearly full. This worried me greatly.
“Mom, do you know that you have several bottles of narcotics in your linen closet?”
“Oh, yeah,” she absent mindedly replied. “I thought about flushing them down the toilet, but I read in a magazine you’re not supposed to do that. It contaminates the water supply.”
“I know, Mom, but it’s really dangerous to have those in your house. Someone could break in and hurt you to get them.”
“Well, I thought someone might try to steal them, but what am I supposed to do; bury them in the back yard?”
I sighed and dropped the issue. At the time, I didn’t know what she should do either.
Now I know.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a component of the U.S. Department of Justice, has scheduled the fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. There are locations in every city all over the country.
Here in the Baton Rouge metro area, there are three locations for the Take-Back Day.
Baton Rouge City Police Department, 1st District
4445 Plank Road, Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge City Police Department, 3rd District
11010 Coursey Blvd, Baton Rouge
Louisiana State Police
17801 Highland Road, Baton Rouge
If these locations aren’t convenient, you can search for a location here.
The previous National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day was on October 29, 2011. More than 188.5 tons of medications were collected for safe and proper disposal on that day. Clearly, the need is great for the initiative. DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart agrees. “The amount of prescription drugs turned in by the American public during the past three Take-Back Day events speaks volumes about the need to develop a convenient way to rid homes of unwanted or expired prescription drugs. DEA remains hard at work to establish just such a drug disposal process, and will continue to offer take-back opportunities until the proper regulations are in place.”
If you miss this month’s Take-Back Day, you can check back for any upcoming dates at the DEA website.
We hope this was helpful. If you have any questions or if you know of a senior that could benefit from our vast array of home care services in Baton Rouge, please call us at 225.819.8338 or email us. Most long-term care insurance policies will reimburse us for our services and we have a team of over 200 bonded and insured CAREGivers covering the Baton Rouge, Louisiana area.
