Here’s how Plano residents can get rid of unwanted or expired prescription drugs
Medications for both people and animals will be accepted at numerous schools in an upcoming drug take back day.
Prescription drugs, like those pictured here, can be disposed of responsibly at an upcoming drug take back day in Plano.(Elise Amendola / AP)
Plano residents can dispose of unwanted prescription drugs during the upcoming drug take back day being organized by the Plano Police Department.
All over-the-counter medications and prescription drugs that are unused, unwanted or expired for both people and animals will be accepted. For safety reasons, sharp needles and combustibles such as inhalers will not be accepted, according to a release from the department.
The number of overdose deaths in Lebanon County surged in 2020 to 39, up from 28 in 2019 and 27 in both 2018 and 2017, in a change that the county coroner and other local individuals with experience in the drug and alcohol field link to the coronavirus pandemic.
James Donmoyer, executive director of Lebanon County s Commission On Drug And Alcohol Abuse, said there could be a lot of factors behind the increase last year and couldn t confirm what the pandemic had to do with it, but did link the deaths to a timeline of the pandemic.
“We didn’t have any in March. Then in April and May, when things loosened up as far as COVID restrictions, our biggest month was May, with eight deaths,” he said. “As we came out of lockdown, our numbers went up.