JONESBORO — Jonesboro residents now have a permanent facility where they may dispose of unused or expired medications.
A coalition of agencies, including the Jonesboro Police Department, Out of the Dark, Rotary Club of Jonesboro and the Northeast Arkansas Career and Technical Center, joined forces to fund and create the drop box installed this week outside the Justice Complex, 410 West Washington Ave.
A number of people gathered Friday morning for a news conference and official unveiling of the metal box anchored in cement and sitting in sight of surveillance equipment for constant security monitoring.
“The box is monitored by a camera system that’s recorded, and it has its own security features. So we feel confident people can securely drop off their drugs, and we can get them disposed of properly,” Jonesboro Police Sgt. Stephen McDaniel said.
The receptacle allows people to drop off medications quickly, easily and anonymously, but its sturdy design also minimizes any potential for theft.
Installation of the new box was timed in conjunction with a statewide “Monitor, Secure, Dispose” prescription drug take-back day Saturday. Residents were able to bring their old medications to hundreds of sites across Arkansas from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, including the Justice Complex in Jonesboro.
Saturday’s events are part of a nationwide prescription drug take-back campaign held in collaboration with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to collect unneeded medicines that could otherwise end up in the wrong hands, potentially becoming part of an epidemic of prescription drug abuse.
Studies show Arkansas has one of the highest rates of prescription drug abuse among teenagers.
Out of the Dark founder Charles “Skip” Mooney Jr. said the last two take-backs resulted in 6.5 tons collected statewide, or the equivalent of 17-19 million pills.
After the take-back event this box is going to stay in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week, McDaniel said.