Melrose Taking Part In Today's Drug Take Back Day

MELROSE, MA —Melrose Police will participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day today. On Saturday from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., residents can drop off old, unwanted, or unneeded prescription drugs at the Melrose Police Station.

The event, which is organized by the Drug Enforcement Administration, is free of charge. Last October's event took in more than 900,000 pounds of drugs at more than 5,3000 collection sites.

"Every year we partner with the DEA to remove potentially dangerous prescription drugs from residents' homes," Chief Michael Lyle said. "We encourage anyone with expired or unwanted prescription drugs to stop by the police department this weekend to safely dispose of them."

Needles, liquids and inhalers are not being collected.

"The abuse of these prescription drugs has fueled the nation's opioid epidemic, which has led to the highest rate of overdose deaths this country has ever seen," Robert Patterson, acting administrator for the DEA, said in a statement. "This is a crisis that must be addressed from multiple angles. Educating the public and removing these medications from households across the United State prevents misuse where it often starts."

DEA officials cited a recent national survey that claimed 6.4 million Americans abuse prescription drugs. Most of those drugs are obtained from home medicine cabinets, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.