Ben Garbacz/Daily Mining Gazette Citizens can drop off unused prescriptions at the Michigan State Police Calumet Post on Saturday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. The bin for the discarded medication is located in the Post's lobby to the right after entering the building. Only pills are accepted while things such as gels, creams, needles, EpiPens, liquids and strips are not accepted in the bin.

CALUMET– Michigan State Police (MSP) in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration is participating in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Saturday. All 31 MSP posts will collect pill or capsule prescriptions without question from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Medications or medical items such as liquids, strips, needles, EpiPens, creams and gels will not be accepted. All collected pills will be destroyed.

Community Service Trooper Alan Narhi of the MSP Calumet Post said medication abuse has a plethora of consequences, and the event serves as an outlet to lessen the chances of the medication being used for unintended purposes.

“If somebody takes something and they don’t know what it is, it can lead to many things including overdose,” Narhi said. “It can lead to other health complications if you take something in that either A: You don’t know, or B: It’s not prescribed to you by a doctor, so that the dosage is wrong for your individual body type.”

Narhi also explained expired, unneeded, unwanted or unused medication can sometimes be obtained by young children, whose curiosity will lead them to ingest it. Disposing of the medication at the event will remove the chances of this occurring.

Narhi said the anonymity of this giving up pills is respected.

“We assist with questions, and they dispose of it and then carry on about their day,” he explained. “We’re not going to be inspecting pill bottles and check for counts and things like whose name is on it and whatnot. Our focus is making sure that we can get pills disposed of properly.”

MSP also has resources available all year around for prescription drug abuse, including the Angel Program. The program offers assistance to those seeking to rid their dependency on drugs and alcohol. Anyone needing support can walk into a MSP post and ask for assistance. Those seeking help will then be put in contact with a counselor after a substance abuse assessment and intake process. Transportation will then be provided to the appropriate treatment facility. Local private treatment services include Copper Shores Community Health Foundation.

Narhi wants to remind the public the event is meant to provide a service while raising awareness, but MSP accepts pill prescriptions all year round.

“We still do accept it if you can’t make it Saturday or if there’s other times throughout the year that you need to get rid of medication you can stop by here and drop it off.” he said.