The Drug Take-Back Event on Saturday, April 27, is going to be extra-special.

Locks Save LivesIn addition to offering our community the opportunity to safely dispose of all unused and leftover prescription and over-the-counter medications, ESD 112’s own Prevent Coalition and other prevention community groups are offering FREE medication lock boxes as part of the locally developed LOCKS SAVE LIVES campaign. It encourages families for the sake of their kids to secure their prescription medications in the home by locking them up.

The boxes will be given to the first 200 qualified people to visit the following two Drug Take-Back Event locations in Clark County: PeaceHealth Southwest Urgent Care and Battle Ground Police Department.

Interested? Take a survey to see if you qualify for a FREE lock box at bit.ly/LocksSaveLives.

For more information about the Drug Take-Back Event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 27, see the event page at bitly.com/takeback2019.

Did you know … ?

  • The No. 1 reason youth misuse prescription drugs is that they are easy to get—often from family and friends’ medicine cabinets.
  • In Washington state, 7 percent of 12th graders misused prescription drugs in the past 30 days—that’s 1.5 times higher than the national average, according to the 2018 Washington Healthy Youth Survey and 2018 Monitoring the Future national survey.
  • Prescription opioids are a growing cause of overdose. Only 29 percent of families with children age 18 and younger report storing medications safely in the home, in a latched or locked location, according to a 2017 study by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
  • Medications can contaminate drinking water and should not be flushed down the toilet or put in the trash. Drug Take-Back events and programs dispose of medications properly and safely through the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Find year-round take-back locations near you at www.takebackyourmeds.org for safe and free medication disposal.