News: Bristol Eliminating Substance Use Together (BEST) to Hold Ribbon Cutting for Drug Disposal Box at Beacon Prescription on March 25th
| Date Published |
Author |
| 3/22/2021 12:00:00 AM |
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Bristol Eliminating Substance Use Together (BEST) to Hold Ribbon Cutting for Drug Disposal Box at Beacon Prescription on March 25th
Bristol, CT., March 22, 2021 – Bristol Eliminating Substance Use Together (BEST) announces a new Drug Take Back location. A secure drug drop box has been installed at Beacon Prescriptions, located at 57 South Street in Bristol, for residents and community members to safely dispose of unused or unwanted medications.
Jenelle Howard, BEST Project Coordinator, explained “the intention behind the drop box is to provide another safe, easy, and convenient disposal of otherwise improperly disposed of medications. A drug take back box addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. Beacon Prescriptions is a perfect location because it is convenient for community members already utilizing the pharmacy.” BEST utilized state grant funding to support the project and purchased an 18-gallon Med Safe Drop Box for the new drug disposal location.
Howard excitedly described the drop box, stating it will feature a Take Away Recovery System, which will be utilized for the disposal of not only medication but also used syringes. Howard continued to note “Beacon Prescriptions pharmacy owner, Gus Campos, was instrumental in supporting the drug drop box installation at his South Street location. Gus was extremely eager and excited to provide a safe disposal location for his customers along with the community.”
The drug drop box was delivered and installed at Beacon Prescriptions for use beginning on March 9th and will be formally introduced to the community at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, March 25th at 9am.
The drop box will be available during Beacon Prescriptions’ business hours; Monday-Friday 8 am - 6 pm and Saturday 8 am - 2 pm. Beacon Prescriptions’ provides convenient, anonymous, and secure drop off services. However, if immediate access is needed, outside of the hours of operation, an additional drug disposal box can be found at the City of Bristol Police Department.
There is a list of medications that can and cannot be disposed of directly on the drop box. The drop box has a one-way medicine drop with a lock to assure that what goes in, cannot come back out until the box is full. There is a removable liner on the inside, once the liner is full it will be removed, replaced, packaged, and directly picked up by UPS for safe disposal. Before complete disposal, data will be collected including; tracking how much medication was disposed of through the drug drop box.
BEST continues to lead efforts to protect Bristol residents against the misuse of prescription medications. Support from community partners, such as Gus at Beacon Prescriptions, is significant in making strides toward reducing substance misuse in the Bristol community. More information about the BEST initiatives and efforts can be found at www.Best4bristol.com.