Adelphi Combats Prescription Drug Misuse by Offering Campus a 24/7, Year-Round Drug Take-Back Lockbox

For more than 10 years, Adelphi University has participated in National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which falls this year on October 26. The day was introduced to encourage people to safely dispose of unused or expired medications rather than leaving them in medicine cabinets or tossing them into the trash. According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.9 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs, particularly opioids, which were for the most part obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.

This year, Adelphi is doing even more to combat the prescription drug crisis. On Friday, October 25, at 9:00 a.m. in the Department of Public Safety and Transportation, a permanent and secure prescription drug lockbox that will offer a safe place on campus to dispose of unused prescription drugs year-round will be unveiled.

The lockbox is a joint effort between Adelphi’s Alcohol and Other Drugs Program, the Department of Public Safety and Transportation, the Student Counseling Center and the Division of Student Affairs.

“The Adelphi University prescription drug lockbox is one of many ways our University responds to the nation’s opioid crisis,” said Scott Zotto ’03, MSW ’09, coordinator of substance use counseling and prevention programming. “No one has to wait for one of the two annual drug take-back days [Adelphi observes], because our box accepts unused prescription drugs 24/7, year-round, with no questions asked.”

The new lockbox will be located in the main lobby of Adelphi’s Department of Public Safety and Transportation in Levermore Hall, Suite 113.

What will happen to the drugs after they are deposited into the lockbox? The Garden City Police Department has agreed to pick up the contents on a regular basis and deliver them to the incinerating plant for destruction.

Incinerating unused drugs keeps them out of the trash, where they can be found and consumed by children, pets or those searching for opioids.

“Not only does this keep drugs out of the wrong hands, it is also environmentally conscious,” said Zotto, since drugs that end up in landfills or are flushed down the toilet can contaminate bodies of water.

Adelphi will still mark this month’s Take-Back Day by providing a drop-off in the Nexus Building lobby on Saturday, October 26, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., in addition to the anytime drop-off in the public safety office. The drop-offs cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps—only pills or patches. Vaping devices will be accepted.

Learn more about Adelphi’s Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.