Drug Take Back Event to be held April 11 in Jonesboro
| The public is invited to drop off expired and unused medications at a Drug Take Back event from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. April 11 at the Refuge Hope Center, 1405 Bittle St. in Jonesboro.
The event is presented by the Center on Aging-Northeast of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) with support from St. Bernards Pharmacy. For more information, call Cynthia Abel at 870-207-7595.
Many unused or expired medications are forgotten and left hidden in the medicine cabinet or other places. According to a survey conducted by Consumer Reports, about one-third of Americans hadn’t cleaned out the medicine cabinet in the past year and nearly one-fifth hadn’t done so in the past three years. Expired medications may be unsafe and dangerous to have on hand, especially if there are young children in the home. Opioids are particularly dangerous.
The Drug Take Back Event is a safe place to turn in expired, unwanted or unused medications. All medications will be placed in a locked container that will be returned to the Jonesboro Police Department for proper disposal.
Medications accepted include:
- Prescriptions
- Over-the-counter pills
- Liquid medications
- Vitamins
- Pet medicine
The following items will NOT be accepted at the event:
- Needles or other sharps
- Asthma inhalers
- Mercury thermometer
- Medications that contain iodine
- Illicit drugs or substances (including marijuana which is still illegal under federal law) and any prescriptions obtained illegally
- Chemotherapy/radioactive substances
- Oxygen containers
The Center on Aging-Northeast is part of the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. Program support is also provided by St. Bernards Healthcare.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 2,727 students, 870 medical residents and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.