Residents across the province are being encouraged to visit their local pharmacy Tuesday to dispose of expired and unused medication.
The public pill drop is taking place in conjunction with the RNC and RCMP at Shoppers Drug Marts on the island and Guardian Hamilton Drugs in Labrador.
Keith Bailey, operator of the pharmacy at the C.B.S. Shoppers Drug Mart, says it is very important to get medications properly disposed of.
“If you don’t need it, you don’t need it,” says Bailey.
Pharmacy owner Keith Bailey speaks with media at his pharmacy in CBS.
He says some drugs become unsafe after a while, noting that he has had people bring back cold and flu medication that’s been expired for five or six years, asking if they are still safe to use. Bailey says old medications pose safety concerns both in the home, in the community, and society in general.
Sgt. Geoff Green, the RCMP’s Drugs and Organized Crime Awareness Co-ordinator, says the biggest concern for them is seeing young people taking and abusing the medications.
He says they have seen people both old and young overdose due to misuse of prescription pills, adding that’s why they want to get such drugs out of people’s medicine cabinets and safely disposed of.
Local pill drops are taking place Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
