Mayors’ Blue Ribbon Commission on Addiction to Host Take Back Tuesday Event on August 28

The Mayors’ Blue Ribbon Commission on Addiction will host another Take Back Tuesday event on Tuesday, August 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. on the sidewalk outside the main entrance of Fargo Cass Public Health, located at 1240 25th Street South in Fargo. The Take Back event will allow area residents to properly dispose of unused and unwanted over-the-counter and prescription medications, thereby helping protect the environment and prevent drug diversion and misuse. Take Back programs are also a strategy to help combat the opioid epidemic.  The first two Take Back events of 2018 took place in June and July at Fargo Cass Public Health and generated 220 pounds of medications from a total of 180 participants. 

The following items will be accepted at the Take Back event:

• Unused or expired prescriptions and over-the-counter medications, including:
• Pills, tablets, caplets (remove product from the packaging)
• Inhalers, nebulizer solutions, liquids and creams (leave in the original container)
• Controlled substances
• Pain relief such as Vicodin, Hydrocodone, Demerol, OxyContin, fentanyl, etc.
• Anti-depressants such as Valium, Zoloft, Prozac, etc.
• Sleep aids, such as Ambien, Lunesta, Sonata, etc.

The following items will not be accepted at this Take Back event:

• Sharps (syringes, lancets), thermometers, glass, home-based care (HBC) or durable medical equipment (DME) supplies, and pharmacy inventory.  Residents are encouraged to ask their pharmacists where to safely dispose of these items.