JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 11, 2024)—Student pharmacists at East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy are helping remove outdated and unneeded prescription medications as part of an upcoming safe medication drop-off event on ETSU’s main campus on Saturday, Sept. 28, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The event takes place in parking lot 22a, which is the large lot next to the ETSU Parking Garage and near the Basler Center for Physical Activity. Turn onto Jack Vest Drive on main campus from either State of Franklin Road or J.L. Seehorn, Jr Road.
The safe medication drop-off will allow the public to dispose of prescription medications,
helping prevent drug misuse and overdose deaths. Naloxone, a medication that rapidly
reverses an opioid overdose, will also be available at no cost to participants who
request it.
The college’s American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists Operation
Substance Use Disorders (APhA-ASP OSUDs) patient care committee, nationally recognized
for their work combating the opioid crisis, is sponsoring the event.
All items dropped off will be taken by ETSU Public Safety to be incinerated, including
all personal information on prescriptions.
Accepted medications are:
• Prescription medications (including Schedule II-V)
• Patches
• Ointments
• Pet medications
• Over-the-counter medications
• Vitamins and supplements
Items that are not accepted include:
• Needles (sharps containers will be given away if you need them for disposal)
• Inhalers
• Thermometers
• Aerosol cans
• Lotions/liquids
• Hydrogen peroxide
Misused controlled prescription drugs are considered a critical public safety and
public health issue by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). According to a 2018 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 10 million Americans misused controlled prescription
drugs. The study showed that a majority of misused prescription drugs were obtained
from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.
Partnering with local law enforcement, ETSU Gatton College of Pharmacy has been assisting
with Drug Take Back Days since 2009 and continues to help with events multiple times
a year throughout the region.
In 2023, the ETSU’s APhA-ASP OSUDs committee won the APhA Operation Substance Use
Disorders Chapter Achievement Award for 2021-2022, their fifth time earning that honor
and marking the 10th consecutive year that the chapter has been recognized either
regionally or nationally. ETSU’s chapter is the most nationally recognized SUD APhA-ASP
patient care committee in the country.
Learn more at etsu.edu/pharmacy.