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HARRISBURG, Pa. (Jan. 25) – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) has announced that it has partnered with Geisinger Health System to open a medication take-back box in the lobby of the agency’s headquarters, further expanding Gov. Tom Wolf’s initiative to combat the prescription drug addiction crisis in the Commonwealth.
“The opioid epidemic does not have compassion, or show regard for status,
gender, race, or borders. It affects each and every Pennsylvanian, and threatens entire communities throughout our Commonwealth. Drug take-back boxes are a vital tool in battling this public safety and public health issue,” Governor Wolf said. “My administration has worked diligently to expand the availability of drug take-back boxes across the Commonwealth and I urge all Pennsylvanians to participate in this important initiative. I want to thank Geisinger and the Fish and Boat Commission for doing their part to curb this public health crisis.”
gender, race, or borders. It affects each and every Pennsylvanian, and threatens entire communities throughout our Commonwealth. Drug take-back boxes are a vital tool in battling this public safety and public health issue,” Governor Wolf said. “My administration has worked diligently to expand the availability of drug take-back boxes across the Commonwealth and I urge all Pennsylvanians to participate in this important initiative. I want to thank Geisinger and the Fish and Boat Commission for doing their part to curb this public health crisis.”
To date, more than 500 drug take-back boxes have been opened across the Commonwealth, mainly in local police stations. Geisinger has installed 20 take-back boxes in its own pharmacies and in Weis supermarkets and independent drug stores throughout central and northeast Pennsylvania.
The drug take-back box opened at the PFBC headquarters is the 11th one in Dauphin County. The PFBC office is located at 1601 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110.
PFBC Executive Director John Arway said that in addition to providing a way for citizens to properly and safely dispose of unused medications, the effort will also help improve the health of the Susquehanna River and its smallmouth bass population.
“Research shows that chemicals found in medications are being absorbed by fish and are contributing factors to various problems, including lesions on young-of-year smallmouth bass and intersex fish, in which male fish develop female egg cells,” he said. “When we reduce the amount of medications entering our waterways, we help protect the environment and the aquatic life in the waterways.”
These chemical contaminants – called endocrine disrupting compounds – can enter waterways from people illegally dumping trash or from flushing medications down the toilet.
The PFBC opened the medication take-back box as part of a program first started by Geisinger in 2012.
“The goal of the medication take-back program is twofold - to decrease the abuse and unintentional overdose of prescription drugs by children and teenagers, and to decrease the potential negative impacts of medications on our environment,” added Skip Wieder, director of Geisinger’s Medication Disposal program. “Equally important, it protects the citizens of the Commonwealth by reducing the chances that the drugs fall into the wrong hands and are abused.”
The medication take-back boxes allow community members to return unused or expired prescriptions, including narcotics, for safe and eco-friendly disposal. The take-back boxes are easy to use and accept prescription and over-the-counter medications in solid, liquid, patch, cream, ointment and spray form. Inhalers, needles, syringes and aerosols are not accepted.
The drug take-back program is administered by the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs and takes place in collaboration with local law enforcement officers, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the state Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, the Pennsylvania National Guard Counter Drug Joint Task Force, and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
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Media Contacts:PFBC – Eric Levis, 717.705.7806 or elevis@pa.gov
Geisinger Health System – Amber Depew, 570.214.4860 or aldepew@geisinger.edu
PA Dept. of Drug and Alcohol Programs – Carol Gifford, 717.547.3314 or cagifford@pa.gov