Free, safe and secure disposal for unwanted medications.

Updates and locations for other counties are available at http://www.medicinereturn.com/return-your-medicines/return-locations

The following locations now offer drop-off boxes for unused medications:

Thurston County Sheriffs Office, 2000 Lakeridge Drive S.W. in Olympia

7 days a week/24 hours a day outside Building #3.

Tumwater Police Department at City Hall, 555 Israel Road in Tumwater.

Monday-Friday 8am-5pm

Lacey Police Department, 420 College Street S.E. in Lacey.

7 days a week/24 hours a day

Tenino Police Department, 358 McClellan Street S. in Tenino.

Monday-Friday 7:30am-4pm

Group Health Cooperative, 700 Lilly Road in Olympia.

Monday-Friday 8am-11pm. Weekends & holidays 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

(Unlike law enforcement offices, Group Health cannot accept narcotics like Oxycontin or Vicodin).

In addition, a one-day collection event will also be held by the Thurston County Sheriff at the Rochester Community Center at 10140 Hwy 12 SW on Saturday, September 25 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Why are drug-take back programs important?

We now know flushing medicines down the toilet is bad for the environment since wastewater treatment plants do not do a good job of filtering out medications. Measurable amounts of drugs end up in our waterways. Trash disposal is not safe either since many drugs are considered hazardous materials. Other types of hazardous products like pesticides are not allowed in the trash because of possible water contamination. Leachate, or garbage water, is pumped from many sanitary landfills and taken to wastewater treatment facilities which, as mentioned, cannot filter out the medications.

Studies have found the amount of unwanted medicine is significant, ranging from 10 to 33 percent of drugs sold. The total number of containers of medicines sold in WA each year is about 96 million. So if even just 10% go unused, thats 9.6 million containers of medicine that need to be disposed of in our state!

Getting rid of unneeded medicines from our homes safely can help reduce access to drugs that could be abused. The statistics are alarming: misused prescription drugs are the illicit drug of choice among 12 and 13year olds; three in five teens say prescription pain relievers are easy to get from parents medicine cabinets; over half of prescription drug abusers get the medicines from a friend or relative; abuse of opiate pain relievers is increasing rapidly with youth admissions to state funded treatment for prescription opiates now 19 times higher than in 2001; and drug overdoses have surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of accidental deaths in Washington.

Some communities, such as those in Thurston County, provide drug take-back programs that are very popular and demonstrate the need for such services. Most cities and counties cannot afford to provide take-back opportunities and, with government budgets getting tighter, this situation will not improve. Efforts are underway in Washington State to bring forward legislation that will provide manufacturer-funded take-back programs for leftover prescription and over-the-counter medicines. Do your research at www.MedicineReturn.com and get involved in finding a solution.

For more information, please contact Terri Thomas at Thurston County Solid Waste at thomaste@co.thurston.wa.us or 360-754-2896

TOGETHER! Offers presentations on the prevention of prescription drug abuse to community groups, concerned citizens and parents.

Did you know that Washington is one of 16 states in the nation where drug overdoses, primarily with prescription drugs, have surpassed car accidents as the No. 1 cause of accidental death?

TOGETHER!, with The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, is providing an educational presentation called Rx360 Washington. Through Rx360, health, prevention and treatment professionals come together to deliver presentations about the prevention of prescription drug abuse to community groups, concerned citizens and parents. The individual experiences and expertise of each presenter provide audiences with a “360-degree” view of the prescription drug abuse issue. Informative and motivational, Rx360 challenges concerned citizens to take action to stop the spread of prescription drug abuse in their community.

YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND ANY OF THE FOLLOWING

September 25th Saturday

October 6th, Wednesday

Lacey Timberland Regional Library

WEBINAR

Community Room

5:30 to 6:30pm

10:30 to 11:30am

&

September 22, Wednesday

October 20th, Wednesday

WEBINAR

12:30pm to 1:30 pm

9:00am to 10:00am

Presenter Jim Cooper

No registration necessary

Sign up on our website: http://thurstontogether.org/

For information please contact Diane Pieroni 360-493-2230 x15 or DPieroni@ThurstonTogether.org