Putam Sheriff’s Investigator Corrine Pitt collects dozens
of unwanted medications
CARMEL – Thousands of unwanted medications were safely disposed
of as law enforcement around the country held Medication Take Back Day
on Saturday.
In one such venue, a small army of volunteers who participated in Saturday’s
Medication Take Back Day at Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel.
The event was sponsored by the Communities that Care Coalition in conjunction
with the Putnam Health Department, Sheriff’s Department and Putnam
Hospital Center.
A recent national survey related to drug use and health indicated prescription
medicines were the “most abused drugs with 70 percent of those abusing
pain relievers advising they obtained them from family and friends.”
Bruce Kelly of the Communities that Care Coalition said 600 pounds of
unwanted prescriptions, 10 percent of which were controlled substances,
as well as over-the-counter medicines were incinerated.
Kelly also noted that many residents are now taking advantage of town-wide
disposal units set up at police stations and town and village halls across
the county. Those self-contained disposal units are located across the
Hudson Valley at police stations and municipal facilities.
Putnam’s Acting Commissioner of Health Dr. Michael Nesheiwat reminded
the public that “proper disposal not only removed the drugs from
the home but also kept the unwanted medications out of the waste and water
streams since many people flush their outdated medications down the toilet.”
