UND nursing students host medication take back event

Unused or expired medications can be dropped off at the event on Thursday, March 10

If you have unused or expired medications that you’d like to dispose of, this week’s M&M’s for Medications event is for you.

Students from the UND College of Nursing and Professional Disciplines will be hosting M&M’s for Medications, a medication take back event, on Thursday, March 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in both the UND Memorial Union and Wilkerson Commons.

The event is being held in cooperation with Safe Kids Grand Forks and the UND police departments.

“The medications that we accept aren’t just pills,” said Marissa Llanes, a student in Population-Based Health, the undergraduate nursing course that’s hosting the event.

“We also accept any over-the-counter medications, creams, liquids, patches or even pet medication.

“It is hard to imagine, but medications are the leading cause of poisoning in children,” Llanes continued. “It is not kitchen, bathroom or cleaning products, but actually things we keep in our home to help with our ailments such as pain, allergies, heart conditions or other medical issues.

“Every 12 days, a child in the United States dies from a medication poisoning, and we want to do our part to prevent that from occurring by removing unused or expired medications from the home and living environment.”

Fellow Population-Based Health student Jayda Belker agreed. “We’re also looking for any expired medications, or even anything unused,” Belker said.

“So if a student maybe had surgery and has some pain medications, but is not using the medications any more, this is a great way to safely dispose of those as well.”

National Poison Prevention Week falls in March, so Safe Kids Grand Forks often sponsors medication take back events during the month. In fact, after M&M’s for Medications, the next citywide event will be on March 22 in the parking lot of the Altru Performance Center, 1375 S. Columbia Road, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

But because Safe Kids Grand Forks’ focus is on young people ages birth to 19, the organization welcomes the UND students’ plan to host a medication take back event on campus, said Jessica Gonitzke, Safe Kids Specialist.

“College students and faculty are really who we’re targeting at the March 10 event, although everyone is welcome to drop off their medications,” Gonitzke said.

“Because many students are sharing dorm rooms and the like, it’s important that they not only dispose of their medications properly but also learn how to safely store their medications as well.”

Moreover, many college students babysit, so it’s vital for them to make sure medications are safe and away from the children in the houses they visit, Belker said. Teaching people about safely storing and disposing of medications is a big part of medication take back events, including this one.

Medications may be dropped off at the event in their original packaging, as all labels and other personal information will be destroyed. People who drop off medications can enter their names in a drawing for GrubHub, Impact Nutrition and Starbucks gift cards, and free M&Ms will be available (while supplies last) for participants who take a survey.

Drug overdose deaths in the United States topped 100,000 in the 12 months leading up to April 2021, the National Center for Health Statistics reports. Meanwhile, more than 12.3 tons of unwanted and unused medications have been collected from the Take Back containers at North Dakota law enforcement agencies, and another 7 tons have been collected through collection programs at the state’s pharmacies.

By hosting M&Ms for Medications, “we’re just doing what we can to help our community,” Llanes said.

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Media contact:

Tom Dennis, Associate Director of Communications
tom.dennis@und.edu
701-777-6746