Medi Drop – A safe way to dispose of medication

Cornwall Ontario — The Cornwall Community Police Service (CCPS) and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) would like to remind you that Medi Drop, a program that offers a safe and anonymous way for the public to dispose of unused, unwanted or expired medication is available.

This is Medi Drop’s first year anniversary. The EOHU and the CCPS, along with their partners, are proud to report that, since its introduction in May 2012, more than 600 pounds of unused, unwanted or expired medication were collected for safe disposal. We are looking forward to another successful year of collection.

Area residents can continue to drop their expired, unwanted or unneeded prescription or over-the-counter medications into secure Medi Drop boxes placed at various locations throughout the City of Cornwall. These boxes can be found at the Cornwall Community Police station on Pitt Street and at the East End station on Montreal Road, as well as at both the McConnell and Second Street sites of the Cornwall Community Hospital.

The Medi Drop program was developed to help eliminate risks at home associated with keeping unwanted or unused medications at home, among them:

• children or even pets being poisoned if they find and swallow medication

• your kids or their friends taking them to get “high”

• your home being broken into by thieves looking to get their hands on medication with high street value

This program also serves to remind you that any means you chose other than the Medi Drop box to dispose of your unwanted medications, like flushing, pouring or throwing them in the trash, risks contaminating the water and harming wildlife, or inviting scavengers to find and illegally sell them.

“We encourage residents to make use of the Medi Drop boxes as they are a secure, easy and environmentally-friendly way to get rid of unwanted medications,” states Chief Dan Parkinson, of the CCPS. Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Medical Officer of Health, supports the initiative by reminding individuals that : “Protecting the health of our children and keeping the environment safe often starts at home and this is an excellent initiative to support”.

The Medi Drop boxes are locked and securely mounted to prevent removal of the medication or the box itself. The CCPS is responsible for collecting and destroying the deposited medication. Residents can also dispose of unwanted medication by returning it to their pharmacy.

For details about what items can be deposited into the boxes, the drop box locations or other information about the Medi Drop program, please visit www.MediDrop.ca.

The CCPS and EOHU would like to thank its partners and sponsors for their continued support to the Medi Drop program: the Cornwall Kinsmen Club, the Cornwall Community Hospital, Long Graphics, Abloy, and Kim’s Mobile Locksmith Service.