Here’s the press release from Buncombe County Schools:
Help Ingles and the Partnership for Substance Free Youth of Buncombe County keep young people safe this summer!
Now through May 29, over 10,000 special bright yellow “Drop Off Your Drugs” bags will be available on checkout counters at all Buncombe County Ingles stores. Customers and local residents should pick up a free yellow bag, fill with prescription pills they no longer use, and return to a drop-off station from 7am-10am on Wednesday, May 29. Drop-off stations will be available at all Buncombe County and Asheville City middle schools, including Evergreen Community Charter School and ArtSpace Charter School. School Resource Officers will be on hand during this time to accept the unused medications and dispose of them properly.
This is the third time law enforcement, schools, health agencies, community and non-profit organizations and parents have worked together to sponsor this drug drop-off event. More than 150 pounds of pills were collected and properly disposed of during last year’s pre-summer event. The goal is once again to successfully keep pills out of the hands of youth this summer.
Every day, across the nation, 2,500 of America’s youth abuse a prescription drug for the first time. Death by drug overdose now surpasses traffic fatalities. A national study from Columbia University found that it is easier for youth to purchase prescription pills than beer, as 34% of surveyed teens report that pills are readily available in their homes, medicine cabinets, and homes of relatives. Buncombe County wants to stop the national trend of increased accessibility of prescription pills by helping families safely and anonymously dispose of unused medications.
Please remember these important rules for pill drop-off:
IMPORTANT!!! ONLY ADULTS SHOULD BRING MEDICATIONS TO THE SCHOOLS–THEY MUST NOT BE SENT WITH STUDENTS.
Remove all identification from medications and empty the dry pill medications into one of the yellow “drop off your drugs” bags (any bag will do).
Remove all identification from liquid medications, LEAVE them in their original container, and place in a yellow “drop off your drugs” bags (any bag will do).
Separate pill, liquids and inhalers into separate bags. Use a different bag for each type of medication.
NO Radioactive medications such as cancer medications are accepted.
NO needles or sharps.
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