October 03, 2012
This past Saturday pharmacists and students from the St. John's
University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences collected
prescription drugs from the local communities and educated the
public on storage and disposal of household prescription
medication. This event was one of the sites for the 5th
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) National Prescription Drug
Take Back Day.
Outside the public safety center at St John's, student members of
Phi Delta Ki, a pharmaceutical fraternity, joined St. John’s
faculty members to take in the medications.
Studies show many adolescents who went on to abuse prescription
drugs as adults obtained them originally from a family medicine
cabinet. Sheila Brocavich, Assistant Clinical Professor at St.
John's says, "Yes, they are a growing concern – especially among
our youth and the most important thing we can do is get rid of
them."
At St. John's nearly 60 pounds of old prescription was collected
drugs in a few hours adding to the nearly 1.5 million pounds that
federal officials have already been able to collect
nationwide.
View Fox 5 NY’s coverage here:
http://www.myfoxny.com/story/19673990/national-prescription-drug-take-back-day
This event coincided with St. John’s University’s Annual Service
Day, where over 1,500 students, faculty, and administrators
throughout the city and abroad campuses provided service to those
in need.
For media inquiries, please contact The Office of Media Relations
at St. John’s University, by calling (718) 990-2451, or by e-mail
at mediarelations@stjohns.edu.