LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
City, Pharmacies Offer Safe Disposal of Old Meds
By ABIGAIL BLISS
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitkans are being encouraged to extend their spring cleaning to the medicine cabinet.
In observance of National Drug Take Back Day on April 28, a collection center will be set up at Harrigan Centennial Hall where the public can drop off unused or expired medications between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Harry Race Pharmacy’s Lauren Kaleta, left, and Melissa Villanueva stand next to a mailbox which has been converted into a collection box for outdated medications. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
The event is sponsored by Sitka Police Department, Sitka Public Health Office, Harry Race Pharmacy and Sitka Counseling.
Loyd Platson, prevention director at Sitka Counseling and director of the HOPE Coalition, said it is the first of its kind in Sitka.
He said organizers hope to expand on the theme of the day and provide additional related services to Sitkans who stop by Centennial Hall. There may be Narcan kits, in-home lock boxes for medications, and informative brochures about the use and misuse of opioids, alcohol, and marijuana.
“We’re trying to make it a lot bigger than just the actual take back of the medication,” he said.
The Drug Enforcement Agency reports that on last year’s National Drug Take Back Day there were some 5,500 collection sites in the U.S., and they collected 900,386 pounds of substances.
The effort is crucial in getting excess prescriptions out of people’s houses, where they may fall into the hands of someone besides the intended recipient, said Trish White of Harry Race Pharmacy.
“They can put anything in (collection boxes),” she said. “What we’re really encouraging, though, is for people to clear out their medicine cabinets of things they’re not using anymore, that are expired.”
The DEA website says that in 2015 “6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs,” most of them taken from family medicine cabinets.
The federal agency has provided boxes for shipping the substances to Anchorage, where they will be incinerated, said Platson.
He said National Drug Take Back Day is one piece of the puzzle in local efforts to combat substance abuse.
“This is one part of the Sitka Counseling/HOPE Coalition’s strategy to reduce social access to prescription medications, especially opioids,” he said.
Ongoing programs to combat opioid abuse in Sitka are weekly youth nights at the Hames Center, distribution of Narcan kits and data collection on substance abuse in Sitka.
Sitkans can drop off unused medications at any time of the year at SEARHC and at Harry Race Pharmacy, which has a “retired postal box” for the purpose, White said.
“It gets them out of our community,” White said. “It just gets them off the island.”
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.