Prescription drug disposal area now open in Delta Pharmacy
Crammed into the Delta Pharmacy were officials from the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, drug awareness advocates The Edge, and the Daniel Island Rotary Club. It seemed like a roll-call that would be expected at an anti-drug abuse rally, but instead it was for the unveiling of a prescription drug disposal box in the busy island drugstore.
Located next to the cash registers at the store’s counter, the green chunk of hollow metal will act as a place to leave any leftover prescriptions in an effort to curb drug misuse.
Jason Sandoval, agent-in-charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Charleston office, said that this drug disposal bin will be a proactive step in combating the larger drug crisis.
“Everybody seems to want to wait for a law to change, a policy to be enacted, to deal with the drug crisis,” he commented. “And quite honestly, dealing with the drug crisis is all of our responsibilities, and one of the most proactive steps we can take as a community and as individuals is clearing out our medicine cabinets of drugs that are now considered commonly abused.”
According to the Food and Drug Administration, expired, unused, or unwanted medicine should be removed from a home as quickly as possible to “help reduce the chance that others accidentally take or intentionally misuse the unneeded medicine, and to help reduce drugs from entering the environment.”
The drug disposal station was funded by the Daniel Island Community Fund and the Daniel Island Rotary Club (DIRC). Scott Varn, president of the DIRC, believes that the initiative can be an example for other communities in the tri-county area.
“This is a fantastic improvement for Daniel Island, but not only Daniel Island,” he said. “I think this is something that’s very scalable and there are Rotary Clubs everywhere. So, we are going to spread the word to the rest of the Rotary Clubs in our district, and hopefully this thing can take off even larger than just our district.”
Sheriff’s Deputy Cephus Rogers stated that the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office is appreciative of the new area to leave pills that have the potential to be abused.
“Usually, we have the annual drug take back, and it’s been effective, but it has not been that effective because normally it’s a short notice and there’s only certain locations,” Rogers said. “This will give a day-to-day opportunity for people to drop it off.”
According to pharmacist Neely Kelleher, Delta Pharmacy regularly sees customers that signified a need for a place to discard their prescriptions.
“In a weekly, bi-weekly basis, we would have customers coming in, asking us where they can dispose of their medications,” she said. “We would give them the dates of the Fire Department drop-off dates, but sometimes that’s just not convenient. So, having a place here for someone to drop-off any time is a wonderful resource.”
Prior to the opening of the disposal bin, there were few locations in Berkeley County for prescriptions to be dropped off, and none were near Daniel Island.
Of all the epidemics in America, opioids was one of the most pervasive in 2018. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reported that, in 2016, nearly five million opioid prescriptions were filled. This, coupled with the popular claim that four out of five heroin users began their drug use with prescription painkillers, makes an always-open drug disposal spot seem like a welcome addition to the island.