H appening today, Oct. 29, Take Back Day is a DEA-led event that encourages the safe disposal of prescription drugs to reduce accidental overdoses and drug-related violence, with participating locations across the country.
All three Doctor's Orders Pharmacy locations are participating in Arkansas Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Doctor's Orders Pharmacy White Hall: 7240 Sheridan Road, White Hall;
Doctor's Orders Pharmacy Pine Bluff: 2302 W. 28th Ave., Pine Bluff;
Doctor's Orders Pharmacy Star City: 500 S. Lincoln Ave., Star City.
We will collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other forms of prescription drugs. Collection sites will not accept syringes, sharps, and illicit drugs.
Liquid products, such as cough syrup, should remain sealed in their original container. The cap must be tightly sealed to prevent leakage. The event will also continue to accept vaping devices and cartridges provided lithium batteries are removed.
During the April 2022 Take Back Day event, Arkansans safely disposed over 28,000 pounds of unused meds.
Why is this day important?
We're glad to participate in Take Back Day and encourage all Arkansas to do their part to dispose of dangerous medication that they no longer need.
The family medicine cabinet is the No. 1 source for teen drug abuse, and it's estimated about half of Americans hold onto old, expired medications in case they need them in the future or to save money.
Thousands of children accidentally ingest prescription drugs every year.
And according to Safe Kids Worldwide, medication is the leading cause of poisoning in kids -- leading to the death of a child every 12 days. Medications, including vitamins, supplements and pills can often be enticing to children due to their similarities in appearance to candy.
Arkansas Take Back said 547 people died from a drug overdose in Arkansas in 2020. Besides the safe disposal of prescription drugs, how can Pine Bluff residents keep their medication safely stored at home?
We're also reminding Arkansas that if they intend to keep any prescriptions, they should be stored in a locking pill bottle and out of reach of children.
We're selling Safe Rx Locking Pill Bottles at all three of our pharmacies. The Safe Rx locking pill bottles require a 4-digit code, working like a bike lock, to keep medication out of the wrong hands. Customers can also have their prescriptions filled in these locking pill bottles.
Please take the time to clean up your medicine cabinet on Take Back Day.
If you have expired or unused medications, bring them to any Doctor's Orders location for disposal. If you have medicine you would like to keep, consider securing them in a locking pill bottles to make sure they are safe and not open to accidents or misuse. Safe storage and disposal go hand in hand to help keep our communities safe.
Lelan Stice, owner,
Doctor's Orders Pharmacy