Medicine cabinet cleanout returns

Duane Hicks

FORT FRANCES—While most people think to tidy up their garages, basements, and closets as part of their spring cleaning routine, the local seniors’ coalition is encouraging district residents to also take a look inside their medicine cabinets.
The coalition, sponsored by the Rainy River District Substance Abuse Prevention team, is holding its fourth-annual “Medicine Cabinet Cleanout Contest” from now until April 17—and everyone is being urged to participate for a chance to win.
Becky Holden, a public health educator with the Northwestern Health Unit, said the purpose of the contest is to encourage people to safely dispose of their medicine so that it’s not used after its best before date, accidently used by someone who’s not supposed to take it, stolen and intentionally used by someone who’s not supposed to take it, or improperly goes into the environment.
To take part, just take all the medications you have cleaned out of your medicine cabinet back to your local pharmacy for safe and free disposal up until Friday, April 17.
Participating pharmacies include the Fort Frances Clinic Dispensary, Pharmasave Downtown, Shoppers Drug Mart, Emo Drugs, and the ones at Safeway and Wal-Mart.
When you drop off your drugs at one of these locations, you’ll be entered in a draw to win a prize. Six winners—one from each participating pharmacy—will be randomly drawn after the contest closes.
Winners will receive gift cards from the respective pharmacy.
To qualify for the contest, the medications can be prescriptions that have expired or you no longer need to take, as well as old or expired non-prescription medications, including cough/cold medicine, pain relief drugs, first-aid substances, vitamins, and herbal products.
Holden said the exercise of cleaning out medicine cabinets should get people to take stock of medications they have, whether they’re ones they currently are using or ones they no longer need.
If you’re not sure whether it’s OK to take anymore, contact your pharmacist for advice.
Proper disposal also helps prevent theft of prescription drugs, which then may be abused by those for whom it is not meant.
While the contest itself may only run for the next three weeks, all area pharmacies will accept old medications people bring in year-round.
The medication is put into a special container, which is picked up and disposed of by an environmental company. This prevents medication from getting into the ground and, ultimately, municipal drinking water supplies—an increasing concern in this day and age.
Holden said the contest has been a success in the past, and she hopes it gets people cleaning out their medicine cabinets once again this year.
Forty-four people turned in total of 55 pounds of medication last year, including one who turned in a prescription from 1954 and another who dropped off 22 pounds of medication.
For more information about the “Medicine Cabinet Cleanout Contest,” call Holden at 274-9827.