STEVE STEINER
Managing Editor
If you have any old or unused prescription medicines and you don’t know how to safely dispose of these, National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Friday, April 22, at Hiott Pharmacy. Pillars4Hope has teamed up with the pharmacy.
“This is the first time we are teaming up with the pharmacy,” said Pillars4Hope Prevention Director Ashley Shearin. The partnership came about in part because Hiott Pharmacy has a secured dropoff box accessible to the public’ which the one at the Walterboro Police Department is not; however, the one at the Cottageville Police Department is also accessible by the public, she added.
To encourage participation, Pillars4Hope will be offering incentives, including free Narcan, which is to be used in cases of opiod drug overdoses.
While a person can drop off unwanted prescription drugs anytime during the year at either the pharmacy or at the Walterboro Police Department, National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is intended to raise awareness of the potential dangers that can possibly exist when these no-longer used/needed medications remain in the house. People living in Cottageville can drop off unwanted prescription drugs at the Cottageville Police Department
It is also to inform and discourage people from using unsafe methods, such as flushing drugs down the toilet.
At Hiott Pharmacy, there is a secured metal box anyone can access to drop off no longer needed prescription drugs. It is the only place in Walterboro other than the police department for that purpose. The reason given is that it is too much of a hassle, which other pharmacies do not want to be bothered with. It’s also because many people are possibly reluctant to turn in those medications to the police department.
However, people have taken the opportunity to dispose of medications at Hiott Pharmacy. Recently, a man came into the pharmacy with a cardboard box filled with medications.
DROPOFF SITES
Hiott Pharmacy: 373 E. Washington St.
Walterboro Police Department: 242 Hampton St.
Cottageville Police Department: 72 Sally Ackerman Drive
ABOUT PILLARS4HOPE
The mission of Pillars4Hope is to provide residents of Colleton County and the surrounding area with professional, evidence-based treatment, intervention, prevention and recovery services. To learn more, call 843-538-4343/538-7613 (fax), or: www.pillars4hope.org
