A prescription drug drop box has been installed inside the Vashon Pharmacy, providing a convenient and safe place for islanders to dispose of unused and outdated prescriptions during pharmacy business hours.

The box is the first of its kind in King County and was provided through a King County Secure Medicine Return program called MED-Project. According to Vashon Alliance to reduce Substance Abuse (VARSA) coordinator Lisa Bruce, all costs associated with maintaining the box and disposal of the medicine will be paid for through a drug industry-funded product stewardship program.

Until recently, islanders have had to take unused medications off-island to properly dispose of them. VARSA, Vashon Pharmacy and the King County Sheriff’s Office have hosted one or two prescription drug take back events at the farmers market during its season and collected almost 400 pounds of prescriptions, keeping them out of landfills and the hands of children and teenagers.

Bruce said the drop box is “a much-needed resource” for the island.

“Prescription drug abuse falls just behind alcohol and marijuana for teens and young adults,” Bruce said. “Unmonitored prescriptions provide easy access — and now there is a place right here to dispose of them.”

The box is a secure and tamper-proof design, and the actual medicine will be monitored and disposed of by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Vashon pharmacist Myra Willingham said she is “very pleased to have this long-awaited and much anticipated medication disposal location right here in the pharmacy.”

“We receive questions almost daily from our customers about how to properly dispose of unwanted prescription medications, and finally we will be able to direct folks to this secure and DEA-sanctioned drop box,” she said.