Opp pharmacy partnering with DTF, mental health

Larry’s Prescriptions of Opp is partnering with the South Central Alabama Mental Health Center and the Drug Task Force for Prescription Drug Take Back Day, and Neil Presley, and employee from Larry’s said that this could help get more prescription medicine off the streets.

“It’s not always the opioids that can be harmful,” Presley said. “A lot of the medicine can be outdated and taken by the wrong person.”

Larry’s partnered with the DTF a couple of years ago to do a prescription drug take back, but Presley hopes that people are taking advantage of the take back box at the police departments.

“We had one with the DTF and we had a pretty big turnout,” Presley said. “Hopefully people are disposing of their medicine in the take back boxes at the police departments, but if not, that is why we are having one here.”

Presley said that theft of the prescription medicine is the biggest issue, but more people learning about the Environmental Protection Agency is causing people to be more cautious about what they do with their prescription pills.

“Most people are worried about theft,” Presley said. “But now people are learning more about the EPA and how if you flush most of the medicine it could seep back into the water.”

According to the FDA, in the last two decades, they have received more than 30 reports of accidental exposure to the powerful pain medication in fentanyl patches. The FDA said that frequent drug take back programs are a big step toward preventing unnecessary deaths due to accidental medication exposure.

The Prescription Drug Take Back Day will be today, Thu., June 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Larry’s Prescriptions.

Drop-offs are anonymous and Larry’s asks to remove any identifying information from medication bottles. Liquids are not accepted.

For more information, contact Staci Wilson with South Central Alabama Mental Health Center at 334-428-5044.