Prescription drug 'take back' programs nets thousands of pills

The Rockwood School District Drug-Free Coalition partnered with the Ballwin, Ellisville, Eureka and St. Louis County Police Departments on Feb. 20 to provide area-wide Prescription Medication "Take Back" events. Five simultaneous events were offered in Ballwin, Clarkson Valley/Wildwood, Ellisville, Eureka and Fenton, where the local divisions of the St. Louis County Police Department, and their respective municipalities, supported the effort.

More than 400 residents dropped off their excess medications, resulting in a total collection of 118,171 pills, inhalers, tubes of ointment, patches and other drugs. There were 3,718 different types of medication collected.

Police officers, volunteers from the Citizens' Police Academy, and Rockwood Drug-Free Coalition members were present at each site to greet residents, collect and count the medications, and provide education on the dangers of prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse.

Residents expressed overwhelming gratitude for this community service, many of them bringing in large bags and boxes of medications prescribed 10-15 years ago.

Responses from residents indicated the need for communities to offer these events more often and to include receipt of over-the-counter medications. As a result, over-the-counter medications will be accepted at future “Take Back” events.

Medication "Take Backs" will be offered again from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sat., April 17 at the same Ballwin, Clarkson Valley, Ellisville, Eureka and Fenton locations. Residents can watch for event promotion via area pharmacies and businesses, the Rockwood School District, and electronic roadside billboards, supplied by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MODOT), which will be set up two-to-four days prior to the event.

The sites are: Ballwin Police Department (300 Park Drive), Clarkson Valley/ Wildwood Police Departments at the Fru-Con Center (15933 Clayton Road), Ellisville Police Department (37 Weis Ave.); Eureka Police Department (120 City Hall Drive); and Fenton City Hall (625 Smizer Mill Road).

For more information, contact Ken McManus, coordinator of the Rockwood Drug-Free Coalition, at 938-2329.