The Texas Panhandle Poison Center (TPPC) launched its 2018 Fall Medication Cleanout cycle Sept. 29 at the TTUHSC Amarillo campus. Event volunteers saw 272 vehicles bring in 793 pounds of unwanted, expired or unused medications and 109 pounds of sharps.

TPPC’s Fall Medication Cleanout cycle also included an Oct. 13 stop at the TTUHSC campuses in Lubbock and an Oct. 27 trip to Abilene. The Lubbock event saw 246 vehicles and collected 890 pounds of unwanted, expired or unused medications and 54 pounds of sharps. The Abilene collection included 221 vehicles and took in 546 pounds of medications and 144.5 pounds of sharps.

The collections provide a way for residents to remove unwanted or unused medications from homes, schools and the streets by safely disposing of them in a free, legal and environmentally sound manner.

Since starting the program in 2009, TPPC has conducted 59 Medication Cleanout events and collected more than 45,200 pounds of medications and 2,986.5 pounds of sharps for incineration.

TPPC Managing Director Jaramillo-Stametz, Pharm.D., said she initially thought the Medication Cleanout program would be a temporary event, but she’s learned that TPPC is providing a important community service that is needed on an on-going basis.

“It’s encouraging that residents are working to ensure that their homes and neighborhoods are safer by removing unused medications from their homes, Jaramillo-Stametz said. “The events also give students of various health professions the opportunity to volunteer and see firsthand the enormity of the issue with the accumulation of both prescription and over-the-counter medications in the home while they also serve their communities. As we work to gain control of the opioid epidemic in our country, we also are learning the downstream effects of tighter regulations on substances such as hydrocodone.” 

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