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Kenosha County will now be offering permanent Western Kenosha County locations for residents to dispose of unused, unwanted and expired medication. This is an effort to prevent prescription drug abuse and accidental poisonings in Kenosha County as well as help protect local waterways.
National Prescription Drug Take Back Programs address a vital public safety and public health issue. More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet. Prescription drugs can be a gateway for more serious drug use.
Acceptable items for drop off are:
- Over the counter medication .
- Prescription medication .
- Pet medication.
- Ointments.
- Creams.
Items that are not acceptable are:
- Liquids (such as cough medicine).
- Intravenous solutions.
- Injectibles.
- Illegal drugs.
- Biohazardous materials .
- Needles/sharps or syringes.
Dispose of medication by removing the medication from its container and disposing of it directly into the Medication Drop Box. For ointment, spray, inhaler or cream, place the entire item into the Medication Drop Box.
The program is free-of-charge and requires no pre-registration. Residents are encouraged to bring their unwanted, unused and expired medications to any of the collection sites. Four sites have been designated for the collection:
- Kenosha County Safety Building 1000 55 th St. Kenosha WI 53140 Collection Hours: Mon-Fri (8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.).
- Town of Salem 9814 Antioch Rd (Hwy 83) Salem WI 53168 Collection Hours: Mon-Fri (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) excluding holidays.
- Silver Lake Police Department 113 S. First St. Silver Lake WI 53170 Collection Hours Mon-Fri (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) excluding holidays.
- Twin Lakes Police Department 920 Lance Dr Twin Lakes WI 53181 Collection Hours: 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week.
Kenosha County Division of Health is also participating in the “Get the Meds Out†a program developed by the University of Wisconsin Extension, that will allow residents in counties whose watersheds empty into either Lake Michigan or Lake Superior to send unwanted prescription medications to a facility in Maine for safe disposal. This program is open to all individuals and families who have unused and unwanted medicine in need of disposal. Envelopes are provided for individual or family use only, and are not intended for nursing homes, group homes, medical facilities, or other large group returns. For more information and for a listing of participating locations go to http://fyi.uwex.edu/pharma/get-the-meds-out-program/ For more information on the Kenosha County Medicine Collection sites, please visit http://www.co.kenosha.wi.us/dhs/Divisions/Health/ or call (262) 605-6700. For more information on neighboring county drug collections visit http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/
The program went into effect Oct. 3.
