DAYTON — Since launching in 2018, nearly 600 Ohio-based organizations, including Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley, received more than 118,000 safe drug disposal kits, at no cost, from the Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative (RALI) of Ohio.
During 2021, Ohioans received nearly 40,000 pouches to safely dispose of their unused, unwanted, or expired prescription medications.
“Our organization is a proud partner with RALI Ohio and we have distributed thousands of safe drug disposal kits in the Miami Valley region,” said Dawn Cooksey, Director of Behavioral Health for Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley. “As a resource, we are committed to the health and well-being of the communities we serve, particularly in relation to preventing prescription drug misuse. Secure storage of medicines currently in use and disposing of unwanted or outdated medicines will help reduce opportunities for substance misuse. The safe drug disposal kits are a useful tool in our efforts to reduce overdose deaths and addiction.”
RALI Ohio is a coalition of local, state, and national organizations committed to fighting the epidemic of substance abuse and misuse in Ohio through effective education, prevention, treatment, and recovery programs.
It provides informational resources containing best practices on educating Ohioans about the importance of safely disposing unused or expired medications. To this end, RALI Ohio has partnered with organizations to distribute at-home drug disposal pouches and hosted events with experts and community leaders to present successful programs for addiction education and prevention.
In addition to these at-home disposal methods, RALI Ohio has also partnered with community leaders to participate in the Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events. These events serve as an important, twice-annual reminder to clean out medicine cabinets of unused or expired medications.
The DEA’s website indicates that the closest designated public disposal location location for residents in or near Sidney, is Ohio CVS Stores LLC., located at 324 Fourth St.
For more information about RALI Ohio, the fight against Ohio’s opioid epidemic, and how to safely dispose of unused or expired medication, visit www.ralioh.org or www.fda.gov/drugdisposal.
