The Mayors’ Blue Ribbon Commission on Addiction will host its first Take Back Tuesday event on June 27 from 1 to 6:30 p.m. in the southeast corner of Fargo Cass Public Health’s parking lot at 1240 25th Street South in Fargo as part of its work to combat the opioid epidemic in the metro community. This will allow area residents to dispose of unused and unwanted over-the-counter and prescription medicines, thereby helping to protect the environment and keeping these drugs off the streets.
Dakota Medical Foundation and the metro’s mayors will host a press conference at 2 p.m. on June 27 at Fargo Cass Public Health to announce the hiring of the Commission’s new coordinator, as well as to highlight this first Take Back Event, the first of four planned throughout Cass County during the coming months.
The following items will be accepted at the Take Back event:
- Unused or expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, including:
- Pills, tablets, caplets (remove product from the packaging)
- Inhalers, nebulizer solutions, liquids and creams (leave in the original container)
- Controlled substances
- Pain relief such as Vicodin, Hydrocodone, Demerol, OxyContin, fentanyl, etc.
- Anti-depressants such as Valium, Zoloft, Prozac, etc.
- Sleep aids, such as Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata, etc.
The following items will not be accepted at this Take Back event:
- Sharps (syringes, lancets), thermometers, glass, home-based care (HBC) or durable medical equipment (DME) supplies, and pharmacy inventory. Residents are encouraged to ask their pharmacists where to safely dispose of these items.
The Take Back program was launched in December 2009. North Dakota now offers two free programs for residents to dispose of unwanted medications – the Take Back program at participating law enforcement agencies and the Yellow Jug Old Drugs program at participating pharmacies. To view a list of all permanent Take Back locations throughout North Dakota, visit http://www.attorneygeneral.nd.gov/public-safety/take-back-program/take-back-program-locations. For a list of drug Take Back locations in Minnesota, visit http://DoseOfReality.MN.gov.
As of May 4, 2017, more than 17,875 pounds (8.9 tons) of unwanted and unused medications has been collected from the Take Back containers at local law enforcement agencies in North Dakota.
The event is sponsored by a grant from the North Dakota Department of Human Services.