By April 16, 2021
Charlotte, N.C., April 19, 2021 — The public is invited to drop off unwanted, unused, or expired prescription drugs at a Take Back event hosted by local independent pharmacy Carolina Pharmacy on Friday, April 23. To support a larger national campaign to encourage safe disposal of prescriptions and fight the opioid epidemic in the United States, protected “Take Back boxes” will be set up at two Carolina Pharmacy locations for quick, convenient disposal of medication that is no longer needed or is out of date.
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of unneeded, unused, or expired prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will host its official Take Back Day on Saturday, April 24.
“Education and drug safety are two topics we talk about frequently with our patients,” said Vic Patel, CEO, Carolina Pharmacy. “We consider ourselves caretakers of the community, so if we can be a local resource, we’re more than proud to do our part to help in the fight to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths.”
A majority of misused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives in 2019. From 1999 to 2016, more than 12,000 people in North Carolina died from opioid-related overdoses.
The locations and hours of Carolina Pharmacy’s Take Back boxes on April 23 are as follows:
**Onsite interviews can be arranged with advance notice; contact logan@foggmedia.com.**
For more information about Carolina Pharmacy visit carolinapharmacy.com or connect with them on Facebookand Instagram.