The Southeast Prevention Resource Center reminds the campus and local residents that a prescription drug drop box is now available on the Southeast Missouri State University campus.

The on-campus drop box was installed last September in the lobby of the Department of Public Safety (DPS) at 1401 N. Sprigg. The box is available to the public on an ongoing basis for anonymously disposing of unwanted, expired or unused medications. Once in the box, the disposed prescriptions may only be accessed by law enforcement, and the medications are later destroyed in an effort to prevent their misuse.

Twenty-two pounds of medications were dropped in the DPS box from Sept. 19 through Oct. 27, 2018. They were then transported to the Cape Girardeau Police Department as part of the fall National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.

We are thrilled to know that the permanent prescription drop box is being utilized on SEMOs campus. DPS is an excellent location for the drop box, especially for SEMO employees, students, their families and friends to use throughout the school year, said Cassie Talley, project coordinator.

The Southeast Prevention Resource Center encourages everyone to consider using the box in 2019 with a particular focus on dropping off unused medications on the next National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Saturday, April 27.

Last year, 900,000 pounds of unused or expired prescription medications were collected across the country on the last national Take-Back Day. That brought the total of prescription drugs collected by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to 10,878,950 pounds since the fall of 2010.

As the opioid crisis continues to grow in epidemic proportions, it is now more important than ever to clean out and inventory any unused prescription medicine in your cabinets to ensure medications do not fall into the wrong hands, said Brett Main of Southeasts Department of Public Safety. Too often, people believe that drug misuse or abuse will not happen within their families or friend circles; however, it is important to remember that it only takes one time to be a deadly mistake.Please take advantage of the free drug drop box and dispose of any unused or unwanted medications to help prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths.

For additional information, visit the Southeast Prevention Resource Centers Facebook page at www.facebook.com/preventionresourcecenter/.