Community Corner
Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
Harford County will once again participate in the Nationwide Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Harford County will have two drop-off locations: the Parking Lot of the County Office Building, 220 S. Main Street in Bel Air (corner of Business Rt. 1 and Main Street); and the Havre de Grace Police Station, 715 Pennington Avenue in Havre de Grace. No questions are asked when old and/or unused medicines are turned in.
In November 2010, the Harford County Prescription Drug Take-Back event was a great success, with over 350 individuals participating in the event, resulting in 1,200 pounds of old and unused medicines being turned in for proper disposal. In September 2010, the event resulted in 700 pounds of unused and old medicines; meaning in 2010, nearly one ton of old and unused medicines were turned in and destroyed. It is anticipated that the April 2011 event will result in an even greater turnout and intake.
The focus of this nationwide event is to help address the alarming rate of drug overdoses related to prescription and over the counter medicines. Nationally, an estimated 6.2 million Americans over the age of 12 years old reported misusing prescription drugs. Locally, over the past five years, 55% of the drug and alcohol overdose deaths of Harford County residents were related to prescription drug overdoses.