MTSU Drug Take-Back Day Huge Success

Thong Bacon delivered about 5 pounds of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medications her family and friends needed to dispose of during the Tuesday (April 24) MTSU Drug Take-Back Day on campus near the Campus Pharmacy drive-thru.

A professional hair stylist, Bacon said her contribution included “cleaning out two to three people’s houses.” She added it was a combination of family and friends.

Expired, unused, and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medicines were accepted. MTSU officials collected 106.8 pounds during the day from Murfreesboro residents and the campus community.

Sponsored by Campus Pharmacy and University Police, the drug take-back event is part of a national collection drive led by the Drug Enforcement Agency’s overall efforts to remove excess drugs from communities where they could be abused or misused, diverted into the wrong hands or disposed of in environmentally unsafe ways.

“It’s a great program,” said Bacon, whose husband, Mike, is a manager with MTSU’s Tennessee Small Business Development Center on Medical Center Parkway in Murfreesboro. “I’m glad they’re doing this. I had been wondering where to drop things off.”

Thong Bacon said too many prescription drugs are over-prescribed and go to waste.

MTSU pharmacist Tabby Ragland said the first hour of the drug take-back day had “gone well, considering the weather (cool and overcast).”

Although the collection did not begin until 7:30 a.m., at least four people dropped their items off as organizers were setting up, said Lisa Schrader, director, Health Promotion.

Schrader said they anticipated more drop-offs from the Murfreesboro community because the city’s police department has been transitioning from its South Church Street location to the new headquarters on North Highland Avenue.

Alumna Kaysi Paul, a grants manager and administrative assistant with Prevention Coalition for Success, assisted with the take-back day along with Wisdom Onyegbule, a fourth-year pharmacy student at Lipscomb University and native of Bolingbrook, Illinois.

MTSU has more than 240 combined undergraduate and graduate programs.