Operation Medicine Drop Set For Saturday

BERLIN – Worcester County residents are encouraged to clean out their medicine cabinets and participate in Operation Medicine Drop: Safe Communities-Healthy Waterways, a one-day drug take back effort on April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at numerous locations throughout Worcester County.

Assateague Coastal Trust/COASTKEEPER, Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Berlin, Ocean City and Ocean Pines Police Departments, Maryland State Police, and Worcester County Health Department have joined forces to launch the countywide event.

The program prevents potentially harmful medications from entering the waterways and impacting aquatic life. In 2004, the USGS identified 100 different pharmaceuticals in surface water, including acetaminophen, caffeine, codeine, antibiotics and warfarin (a common blood thinner). They also found that an antibiotic, a drug used to treat bipolar disorder and nicotine had contaminated aquifers.
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