Owens Pharmacy in California has installed new MedSafe medication-disposal kiosks provided by NoRxAbuse.
Five locations have the MedSafe kiosks, which provide medication-disposal options in the areas of Redding Anderson and Weaverville, according to a press release
California Healthcare Foundation and NoRxAbuse partnered to make the donation of five MedSafe kiosks available. The new kiosks will ensure patients are able to safely dispose of their unused medications, the release said.
Dr. Andrew Deckert, Shasta County health officer, said that two-thirds of Americans who are struggling with opioid abuse were given their first exposure not by medical professionals but by friends and family, according to the release. Opioid abuse is not specific to a certain demographics and is used by all social statuses.
Ivan Petrzelka, founder and president of NoRxAbuse, thinks that the disposal kiosks and education are the keys to preventing further abuse.
"The only way we can resolve it is by providing education to prescribers, to dispensers, to patients," he said in the release.
NoRxAbuse is a nonprofit public-benefit organization with the mission of improving safety and preventing prescription drug abuse, the release said. The key to the mission is bringing the appropriate tools to healthcare professionals and improving awareness about drug abuse.
