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Safe Kids Stanly County, in partnership with the Albemarle Police Department, will host its annual medication take back event from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday at the Stanly Commons parking lot where people can safely dispose of unused medicines.

This is but one example of the many efforts underway in the county to decrease access to prescription drugs and prevent them from falling into the hands of people who could potentially misuse them.

“Unused medications around the home is a potential for loved ones and others to utilize in an unsafe manner, so it’s best if they’re unused to discard them,” Adam Palmer, the Safe Kids Stanly County coalition coordinator, said.

Unused or outdated prescriptions can also be discarded at the Albemarle, Oakboro and Norwood police departments, which are each equipped with medicine drop boxes. Albemarle Police, for example, discarded 211 pounds of unused prescriptions drugs last year, according to the 2022 Community Health Assessment.

Safe Kids is a national nonprofit organization created in 1988 that works to keep families and communities safe from injuries. Safe Kids Stanly County was created around 1990-1991, according to Palmer, making it the first coalition in the state and one of the first national coalitions.