On May 9, as part of launching Police Week, Wellington County OPP and Guelph Police stations will be accepting unused medication in a Prescription Drug Drop Off Blitz.
This initiative is supported by the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy (WGDS), Safe Communities Wellington County, and Emergency Medical Services.
Adrienne Crowder, manager of the Wellington Drug Strategy, hopes the blitz helps to develop awareness around this issue.
“We would be unlikely to carelessly leave firearms in our homes so that they were accessible to anyone, but we tend to be unaware of the dangers that lurk in our medicine cabinets in the form of unused prescription medication,” said Crowder.
In Wellington, on May 9 between 10am and 3pm, people wishing to dispose of outdated, unused and unwanted prescription drugs may do so anonymously at the county OPP detachment in Aboyne.
Research indicates the rate of recreational misuse of prescription drugs by youth is rising. These drugs are obtained from the family medicine cabinet or from friends.
In Ontario, opioid overdose is now the third leading cause of accidental death. In 2010, nearly one of every eight deaths (12.1%) among individuals aged 25 to 34 years in Ontario was opioid-related. Between 1991 and 2004, 52% of opioid-related deaths were unintentional, and the overall rate of opioid-related mortality increased 242% in roughly the same time period.
“The good News is that we can manage the risk associated with unused prescription medication by dropping it off at the blitz on May 9 or anytime at a local pharmacy for safe disposal,” said Crowder.
