LAFCU’s Mason and South Lansing branches will host the “Prescription Pill Drop-off,” coordinated by the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office, Friday, Feb. 16. The event helps fight the opioid crisis by ensuring prescription medicine gets disposed of properly.
This Drop-off event is the result of Ingham County Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth reaching out to businesses for help in getting unwanted, highly addictive opiates and other narcotics out of the community. He wants the pills out of the reach of young people and others who might have unintended access to them.
He said, “Many abused prescription drugs, primarily painkiller medication, are obtained from family and friends, often unknowingly when drugs are taken from home medicine cabinets.”
Kelli Ellsworth Etchison, LAFCU senior vice president of marketing, said, “As a local, member-owned financial organization, LAFCU is concerned about the health of the communities it serves. We welcome our role as a drop-off location to help law enforcement take action to prevent prescription drug abuse.”
Sheriff Wriggelsworth and a deputy will be at each LAFCU location Feb. 16 for the public to drop off unwanted or expired prescription pills and patches:
- 11 a.m.-noon – LAFCU Mason Branch, 750 S. Cedar St., Mason
- 1-2 p.m. – LAFCU South Lansing Branch, 1112 Keystone Ave.
No liquids, syringes, inhalers or over-the-counter medication will be accepted.
A mobile pill receptacle box will be used to collect the medication. Pill bottles are not inspected, and no names are associated with the drop-off. The pills will be disposed of through incineration at a Grand Rapids facility.
Improper disposal of medications can allow them to get into the hands of those who may abuse them and can create health and safety hazards. Flushing medicines down the toilet or throwing them in the trash can endanger a community’s ground water.
“If you have prescription pills that are not needed, I encourage you to bring them to us Feb. 16 at one of the community-minded businesses assisting us in our effort to fight opioid abuse,” said Wriggelsworth.
Collections will also take place the same day at UPSTREAM Investment Partners LLC, East Lansing, 9:30-10:30 a.m., and Abood Law Firm, East Lansing, 2:30-3:30 p.m.
The public is urged to help combat local opioid abuse by dropping off unwanted prescription pills at LAFCU’s Mason Branch, pictured, and its South Lansing Branch when Ingham County Sheriff’s Office law enforcement is present Friday, Feb. 16.