Medsafe Medication Disposal – How We Are Fighting the Opioid Epidemic
When someone presents to our Emergency Department from an opioid overdose, they may be seizing and may have damaged every organ throughout their system. They can go into respiratory and cardiac failure.
More than 50% of those who abused opioids did not have a prescription and many obtained these drugs for free from friends or relatives. With Louisiana in the midst of a tragic opioid epidemic, we’re asking for your help.
Clean out your medicine cabinets and bring your unneeded or expired drugs to our drug take-back box.
“I received a call from a very concerned mother who was upset because she had found prescription opioid medications in her child’s backpack. These old medications were originally in her home and she didn’t need or use them anymore. She was desperate to get rid of them and get them away from her child. I told her about our medication disposal bin where she can get rid of those medications and know they’ll be disposed of properly.”
A list of drug take-back boxes may be found online. For the Pointe Coupee community, Pointe Coupee General Hospital has a take-back box, the Medsafe medication disposal, which is available 7 days a week, from 6:00 AM until 8:00 PM. It is located on the first floor near the Laboratory Department’s entrance.
PREVENT ACCIDENTAL POISONING
MedSafe facilitates collection of unused and unwanted consumer medications including legally held controlled substances, providing a convenient method of disposal and ridding homes and medicine cabinets of potentially harmful drugs.
PREVENT DIVERSION
MedSafe allows the collection of legally held patient-prescribed and OTC pharmaceutical controlled substances (schedule II-V) from ultimate users for disposal in a safe and effective manner consistent with effective controls against diversion.
PREVENT WATER CONTAMINATION
MedSafe inner liners are treated per preferred method of disposal, incineration, which renders the pharmaceuticals non-retrievable and prevents unused medications from cycling back into our water.
Those suffering from addiction and seeking assistance are encourage to reach out to Pointe Coupee Human Services Center. PCHSC specializes in appropriate, effective, community-based prevention, treatment, and assessment/referral services for individuals faced with chemical use problems.
Utilize the drug take-back boxes nearest you today. Together we can make Louisiana a safer place, today.
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