DECEMBER 15 • 2022 | 61

are prescribed, he suggests 
keeping them locked up and 
disposing of them safely 
when they are no longer 
needed. It may be appropri-
ate to keep Narcan, a nasal 
spray antidote to overdoses, 
available. (See sidebar.)
He urges family mem-
bers to watch older adults 
for signs of opioid depen-
dence. “Trust your instinct. 
It is our duty to own it, to 
intervene. Ask your doctors 
for referrals for treatment,” 
Foumia says. “Addiction is a 
chronic illness and medica-
tions may be needed to help 
the brain to heal.”
Eizen explains that 
“among older people, 
medication misuse is 
mainly prescription drugs.” 
She cites studies that 
indicate between 75 to 96% 
of older adults acknowledge 
making frequent medication 
errors, such as forgetting to 

take a medication or taking 
a duplicate dose.
Eizen recommends that 
all medications be obtained 
from the same source to 
avoid potential interactions 
and that labeled medication 
boxes or blister packs be 
used to encourage patients 
to take their medications as 
prescribed. 
To check for drug inter-
actions, visit www.webmd.
com/interaction-checker/
default.htm. 

About JARA: Jewish Addiction 

Resource Alliance (JARA) is a coali-

tion that seeks to eliminate the stig-

ma associated with addiction within 

the Jewish community through 

education, resources and support to 

individuals, families and the larger 

community. 

 Partner agencies include the 

Greater West Bloomfield Community 

Coalition, Henry Ford Maplegrove 

Center, Jamie Daniels Foundation, 

Jewish Family Service, Lev Detroit 

and Tri-Community Coalition.

Safe disposal of old or no-longer-needed medications 
reduces their use after the expiration date and 
potential misuse by individuals other than the patient 
for whom they were prescribed. 
Experts advise against disposing them in the 
sink or toilet because they can end up in the sewer 
system and water supply. Throwing medicine 
containers in the trash is also unsafe because they 
can be accessed too easily.
Instead, there are two good options — taking 
them to a designated medical disposal location or 
obtaining a special bag to dispose of them safely. 
Some police departments and pharmacies will accept 
medications for disposal.
Another option is a special Deterra medication 
disposal bag provided by the Jamie Daniels 
Foundation. The Deterra Drug Deactivation System 
is a medication disposal pouch that permanently 
deactivates pills, patches, liquids, creams and films. 
Disposal bags can be obtained by contacting Ilana 
Woronoff, LMSW, resource center coordinator at 
Jewish Family Service: iworonoff@jfsdetroit.org or by 
calling her at (248) 592-3981. 

How to Safely Dispose of Old 
or Unneeded Medications

Renowned Detroit busi-
nesswoman Florine Mark 
offered an inspiring message 
of personal empowerment 
to the Fall Semester grad-
uating class of Lawrence 
Technological University at 
Commencement Saturday, 
Dec. 3.
Mark — renowned busi-
ness leader, women’s advo-
cate, motivational speaker 
— said she was once a “fat 
little girl who hated herself.”
Growing up poor on 
Detroit’s west side, part 
of an extended family of 
14 squeezed into a single 
house, she said food was 
always the family’s main 
comfort. “The biggest room 
in our house was the dining 
room,” she said.
But as a young woman, 
her travels took her to New 
York, where she attended a 
new concept in healthy eat-
ing called Weight Watchers. 
And on that program, she 
lost 40 pounds. Its founder 
asked Mark to bring Weight 

Watchers to Detroit. And 
the rest, she told the gradu-
ating class of Lawrence Tech 
at commencement, is busi-
ness history.
Mark urged the graduates 
to give back to the commu-
nity, citing her work with 
her mother in the March 
of Dimes after her sister 
was partially paralyzed by 
polio. She recalled that her 
mother convinced her to 
spend a dime on the March 
of Dimes rather than ice 
cream. A week later, she 
said, came news of a polio 
vaccine. Said Mark: “My 
mother said, ‘See? It was 
your dime!’”
Finally, she said, we 
should all treat every day as 
a gift. 
“Today is a gift, and it’s 
the only day that you have. 
You can’t do anything about 
yesterday, and hopefully 
we’ll be alive tomorrow, but 
today is the only day you 
have — try to make it excel-
lent.” 

Florine Mark gave the commencement address at 
Lawrence Tech on Dec. 3.

Mark Addresses Lawrence Tech Grads