USC will host its first Drug Take Back Day on Dec. 5, according to USC Student Health. Throughout the day, anyone in and around the USC community will be able to anonymously drop off prescription and other drugs at pharmacies around campus.
USC Student Health Chief Sarah Van Orman said this is the first time the university has hosted a drug take back day.
The event could be in response to several student deaths on campus, which the LA Times said may have involved opioids.
“For a lot of factors, we felt like this was a very important thing to start this year and hopefully to continue on our campus,” said Van Orman. "While we don’t have the confirmation or knowledge that [the deaths] were prescription drugs, it certainly has started an important conversation on our campus about misuse of all kinds of drugs.”
Van Orman said anyone is welcome and Student Health is encouraging faculty and staff to also participate in the day.
There will be no questions asked of participants, according to Van Orman.
“No one’s asking where you got it from,” she said. “You don’t give your name. You just drop it off."
Participants will be able to return drugs to four USC Pharmacies; in the Student Union, near the Engemann Student Health Building, on the first floor of the Health Science Campus and at Verdugo Hills Hospital.
While the disposal locations will not have counseling services for participants, they will have information available on drug abuse, according to Van Orman.
“Our pharmacists actually are trained," she said. “So I would encourage people, if they have questions, to talk with the pharmacists that are right on site.”
Van Orman also emphasized that naloxone, an opioid overdose antidote, is available at USC Pharmacies without prescription.
“We also want anyone who is at risk, who is not ready for treatment, to make sure they understand that naloxone can save someone’s life in the event of an opioid overdose,” said Van Orman.
Raffi Svadjian, an assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at USC, stressed drugs aside from opioids can also be dangerous.
“Any controlled medication could be dangerous, especially opioids," said Svadjian. “Any drug not used in the right way can be dangerous.”
Several greek life organizations at USC have also started providing naloxone in the form of Narcan, a spray device used to administer the antidote. In the week before Thanksgiving, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority announced plans to provide Narcan to members and Zeta Beta Tau fraternity expressed interest in providing the antidote at their annual fall register.
USC Student Health is planning to continue raising awareness around opioid abuse moving forward. Van Orman said she is working with groups around campus to provide information to help students make informed decisions regarding drugs.
“We’ve also been working with some of our data from last spring’s Healthy Mind study to really try to understand where there may be pockets or groups of students that have heavier drug abuse and working with those communities to try to identify some of the factors behind it,” said Van Orman.
Ultimately, Van Orman says this will not be the last drug take back day. She said another day is in the works for the future.
Svadjian said although this drug take back event will only last a day, he hopes there will be a more permanent solution to drug abuse on campus.
“[The School of Pharmacy] had been internally discussing doing this for quite sometime, but they want to find a permanent solution to find for USC students to safely forfeit any drug that isn’t used or expired," said Svadjian