Twice each year, hospitals and law enforcement agencies throughout the country participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, encouraging people to look through their medicine cabinets and properly dispose of expired and unwanted medications.
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is on Saturday, October 27, so Spectrum Health and many other facilities are providing places for people to drop off their unused medications.
The mission behind Drug Take Back Day is to address the misuse of prescription drugs. In order to improve community health, many health facilities are setting up drop sites so opioids aren't misused.
The goal of drop off sites is to do the following:
Reduce - implementing standards for prescribing opioids.
Remove - taking excess opioids out of circulation.
Rescue - making medications available to counteract an overdose.
Recover - providing access to recovery services.
For those looking to get rid of expired or unwanted medications, there will be a drop off sight at Spectrum Health Healthier Communities Widdicomb Building, located at 665 Seward Avenue North West in Grand Rapids. They'll be accepting drop offs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Click here to find a sampling of other locations in the West Michigan area.
