UCO to host drug take back program

The UCO Peer Health Leaders organization is hosting a prescription drug take back event from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 on the north side of the Wellness Center.

This will be the third drug take back event that UCO has hosted since 2018. It gives people of the UCO and Edmond community the opportunity to safely dispose of any prescription medications that are unused, unwanted or have expired. 

Carlie Deatherage, who has worked with the Peer Health Leaders at UCO for three years, said this is an important  annual event. 

“According to the National Institute of Health, many states have reported increases in opioid fatalities since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Deatherage, who is the assistant director for the health promotion and outreach. “With this program, we hope to get opioids properly disposed of to avoid potential misuse.” 

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there were an estimated 1.6 million people who were diagnosed with opioid use disorder in 2019. Only 18.1% of these people received any kind of medical treatment. 

Deatherage said that UCO Peer Health Leaders have worked during the pandemic to continue to offer reminders about health. 

“Throughout the pandemic, Peer Health Leaders have continued to work on bringing information to their peers through some in-person programs, online programs and presentations, and pushing out informational content and videos on social media as well as checking in on their friends and the people around them,” Deatherage said. 

If students can’t make it to the drug take back event, there will be some more events that the Center for Counseling and Well-Being department will be hosting virtually in November. 

In November, there will be several Broncho Bystander and Suicide Prevention online trainings.

On Nov. 5, there will be an Instagram live program on consent during COVID  from 7-8 p.m. Mental health Monday is from 1:00-1:30 p.m. on Nov. 9. There will also be a men’s mental health discussion at 1:00 p.m. on Nov. 17. Finally, there will be “‘Be Mindful Week” virtual programs during finals week. To sign up for these virtual online programs follow The UCO Wellness Center on social media and UCORE. 

The UCO Wellness Center is located at 100 N. University Drive in Edmond off of Ayers Street. It is located on the northwest side of campus west of Wantland Stadium. 

Masks are required for the drug take back event. It is also a judgment-free event.

For more information on the drug take back event as well as the rest of the upcoming events, students can follow the UCO Health Promotion social media outlets on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @ucohealthpromo. There, students can also find resources and information on mental health, coping, substance abuse prevention and interpersonal violence prevention.