Saturday, April 28 Is Drug Take Back Day

East Providence – In collaboration with the US Drug Enforcement Agency, East Providence Police and the East Providence Prevention Coalition will again collect unwanted medications on Saturday 4/28 10am-2pm at the East Providence Police Station, 750 Waterman Avenue. It is part of a nationwide effort to rid communities of excess prescription medications. Commonly misused medications are often found in home medicine cabinets. For instance, opioids with trade names such as Vicodin, Dilaudid, and Lomotil, central nervous system depressants such as Xanax and Valium, and stimulants such as Dexedrine, Ritalin, and Adderall should be disposed of if not being used as treatment for a current condition.

This crisis includes people just like you and me who had an injury or accident, took prescription medications on the advice of a doctor, and now have an illness. In fact, nearly 30% of people who are prescribed opioids will misuse them and around 10% will develop a substance use disorder. They may turn to family’s and friends’ medicine cabinets rather than tell you they need help.” says Kristen Westmoreland, Outcomes Director of the East Bay Regional Coalition. According to the Governor’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force, RI saw 336 drug poisoning deaths in 2016, a number that now exceeds the number of deaths from homicides, motor vehicle crashes, and suicides combined (www.preventoverdoseri.org).

Eliminating access to excess medications is just one prevention strategy employed in East Providence, where there is a permanent drug disposal box located at the Police Station on Waterman Ave. Here, residents can dispose of unwanted medications any day, any time. The East Providence Prevention Coalition also recommends periodically counting the pills in your current medication bottles to ensure none are missing and locking up all medications in your home. In addition, the city participated in Governor Raimondo’s Community Overdose Engagement Summit and is creating a strategic plan to address the opioid overdose issue in East Providence. By looking at local needs and data, the city hopes to promote awareness of the growing opioid crisis and reduce the stigma often associated with opioid use disorder, treatment and recovery.

The East Providence Prevention Coalition is a community organization committed to promoting healthy lifestyles in East Providence. For more information about how you can get involved, please visit www.eastprovidence.com/eppc