Drug Disposal Event Comes To Milford In October

MILFORD, MA — The Milford Senior Center will host the 2019 National Drug Take Back Day collection this year. On the day, slated for Oct. 26, locals will be able to dispose of old prescription medicine safely.

Here's more from a Drug Enforcement Agency press release:

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will once again conduct one
of its most popular community programs: National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is on Saturday, October 26, 2019, from 10:00am – 2:00pm. The public can dispose of their unwanted prescription medications at the Milford Senior Center located at 60 North Bow St., with the assistance of the Milford Police Department.

The initiative addresses a vital public safety and health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. DEA launched its prescription drug take back program when both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration advised the public that flushing these drugs down the toilet or throwing them in the trash posed potential safety and health hazards.

Last April, during the Take Back Day, the DEA New England Field Division participated in the drug take back day. There were a total of 4,969 law enforcement agencies that participated, over the course of four hours, 937,443 lbs. (468.72 Tons) of expired, unused, unwanted prescription drugs were collected at 6,258 collection sites throughout the country. In Massachusetts, 178 law enforcement agencies participated collecting a total of 28,118 lbs. of unwanted and unused prescription drugs.