The 2023 Berks Medical Society Prescription Take-back Day –A Successful Event

By T.J. Huckleberry, Executive Director, Berks County Medical Society

264 Cars, 453 pounds of Returned Medications and a Taxi

The major drug problem in the United States is not on the street, it is in our medicine cabinets. Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to accidental poisoning, overdose, and abuse. Pharmaceutical drugs can be just as dangerous as street drugs when taken without a prescription or a doctor’s supervision. The majority of teenagers abusing prescription drugs get them from family and friends – and the home medicine cabinet. Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.

On April 22, 2023, the Berks County Medical Society partnered with the Fightin’ Phils, the Berks County Office of the District Attorney and the SOS Berks Opioid Coalition to sponsor the 2023 Prescription Take-back Day. This annual event offers Berks Countians a safe,

convenient, and responsible method of disposing of both prescription and over-the-counter medications while at the same time connecting participants with local safe medication management resources. And as an added incentive, free tickets to an August Fightin’ Phils game are provided to all individuals who drop off their unused medications.

The 2023 event demonstrated the teamwork needed to properly dispose of large quantities of medication. Public safety personnel from the District Attorney’s staff and the Reading Police Department oversaw the handover of the medications while volunteers from the Berks County Medical Society and Drexel University sorted and prepared the medications for transfer to the Berks County Forensics Unit van. The medications are then transported to the appropriate sites for safe disposal. And SOS Berks volunteers were on hand to provide educational packets to all participants including medication disposal bags and pill storage boxes. This year’s event also sought to protect the environment by disposing of the medication containers in a separate bin for recycling.

The 2023 Prescription Take-back Day faced its challenges as volunteers worked outside in damp and chilly weather. But despite the weather, this event was one of the most successful. Cars were lined up at 8:30am with individuals patiently waiting to hand over their medications. And one resourceful senior citizen even used taxi transportation to bring her unused medications to the event. Over three hours, 264 cars came through or an average of 1.5 cars per minute. And the event resulted in the collections of 48 pounds of controlled and 405 pounds of non-controlled medication or 453 total pounds (over one quarter of a ton).

The Prescription Take-back Day is just one opportunity to dispose of your medications wisely. Medication drop boxes located at Berks County police departments and medication disposal bags provided by the Council on Chemical Abuse offer year-round options for safe medication management. Click on Medication Safety - Council on Chemical Abuse | Your Bridge to Addiction Resources (cocaberks.org) to learn about the resources available for you and your family.

By Laura Catalano