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Community health agencies in Thunder Bay, Ont., are urging people to clean out their medicine cabinets to properly dispose of expired medications, vitamins and drug equipment.<\/p>\n
NorWest Community Health Centres (NWCHC) hosted the city\u2019s annual Drug Amnesty Day event on Wednesday, where people were given the chance to drop off old medications and drug-related items outside the organization\u2019s office at 525 Simpson St.<\/p>\n
Thunder Bay continues to have the highest opioid-related death rate in the province at more than five times the Ontario rate, according to the Office of the Chief Coroner.<\/a><\/p>\n A large part of the problem is increasingly toxic drugs in the street supply, which are often mixed with animal tranquillizers and prescription medications, explained NorWest manager Nicole Fieduna.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re seeing pain medication \u2014 so those really common meds that some people have brought today, your Dilaudid, your Percocets \u2014 those are being sold on the street with other substances mixed into it,\u201d Fieduna said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat kind of tells you why we don’t want to have those medications at home because they might find their way into the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n Keeping old medications at home may also put children and pets at risk, she added.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy keep it at home? It’s keeping clutter, you might be misusing it, the medication doesn’t have the same efficacy anymore,\u201d Fieduna said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we don’t dispose of them correctly or are putting them down toilets or putting it into the garbage, it puts a risk towards our waterways and also our wildlife.\u201d<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s event was run in partnership with Syndicate Pharmacy, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit\u2019s Superior Points Program, the Thunder Bay Drug Strategy and the Thunder Bay Police Service.<\/p>\n However, people can drop off old prescriptions any time at their nearest pharmacy.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery medication or drug-related item that is safely disposed of is one less potential source of accidental poisoning, misuse, and environmental contamination,\u201d said NorWest\u2019s chief executive officer, Juanita Lawson, in a news release.<\/p>\n Safe disposal, connections to services<\/p>\n Another safety concern is used drug equipment, such as pipes and needles, in public spaces.<\/p>\n People can find sharps container locations in the city through the Ontario Harm Reduction Program Locations map<\/a> or by searching on the free LifeguardConnect app.<\/a><\/p>\n Those who don\u2019t feel comfortable picking up a needle themselves can contact Superior Points. Otherwise, Fieduna cautions them to \u201csafely pop the top, grab the top of the plunger and put it within a hard case, like a Gatorade bottle,\u201d before putting it in a sharps container.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785366789_53_default.jpg\")
Nicole Fieduna is a manager at NorWest Community Health Centres in Thunder Bay, Ont. She says it’s important for people to have conversations about drug safety, whether it’s prescription medication or illicit substances. (Marc Doucette\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785366789_20_default.jpg\")
People in Thunder Bay, Ont., can contact Superior Points if they see a needle or other drug-related equipment that they want disposed of. (Sarah Law\/CBC)<\/p>\n