National Drug Take Back Day April 27th
Rimrock is proud to be partnering with local law enforcement, Attorney General Tim Fox and the DEA for this year’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Saturday, April 27th. This year, there will be two locations in Billings for people to dispose of their unwanted and expired prescription medications — The Billings Elks Lodge, 934 Lewis Avenue, and a new drop off location in Billings Heights at First Interstate Bank, 730 Main Street. Staff from Rimrock will be at the Heights location assisting with the event.
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is a safe, convenient and responsible way to dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs. Too often, these unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands. Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to potential accidental poisoning, misuse, and overdose. According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.2 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. Last year, Montana’s drug take-back events in April yielded more than 4,300 pounds of prescription drugs.
“I encourage all Montanans to visit the site nearest them to dispose of their unused and expired medications,” Attorney General Tim Fox said. “Prescription drugs that sit in home medicine cabinets are highly susceptible to abuse, misuse, and diversion. Throwing them away or flushing them down the toilet are both potential safety and health hazards. Take Back Day offers a convenient way for each of us to properly dispose of our outdated medications while protecting our communities and the environment at the same time.”
Help make Billings a little safer by cleaning out your medicine cabinets this April. Join Rimrock on Saturday, April 27th any time between 10:00am and 2:00pm at the First Interstate Bank in the Heights at 730 Main Street to safely and anonymously dispose of your unused or expired prescription medications.
“First Interstate champions healthy communities and supports efforts to provide a safe, regulated place to dispose of outdated and unused prescription drugs,” said Brian Brown, First Interstate’s Billings Market President. “We applaud Rimrock’s efforts in recognizing the need to preemptively collect these materials, significantly minimizing the odds that they fall into the wrong hands.”
Other sites around the state and country can be found online at https://takebackday.dea.gov/#collection-locator. Unwanted prescriptions can also be disposed of throughout the year at 50 permanent drop box locations across the state. A list of locations is available at www.resolvemontana.org.
If you have any questions on either event or would like more information, please contact Cathy Cullen, Director of Development Services for Rimrock at ccullen@rimrock.org or 406.248.3175. You can also contact Kristi Conroy, Billings Market Administrative Assistant III, First Interstate Bank, kristi.conroy@fib.com or 406.255.5125.
