Somerville Police Holding Drug Take Back Day

SOMERVILLE, MA — The Somerville Police Department has announced that it will participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this week. On Saturday, Oct. 28, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., officers will be on-hand at the Somerville Public Safety Building, 220 Washington St., and the Somerville Fire Department, 6 Newbury St., to collect unwanted prescription drugs from any resident wishing to dispose of their old, unwanted or unneeded prescriptions. The event is completely free of charge for all.

The Drug Take Back Day is a semi-annual event that is administered by the Drug Enforcement Administration. During the last event, on April 29, the event brought in 900,386 pounds (450 tons) at close to 5,500 sites across the nation.

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Initiative addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.4 million Americans abused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. The DEA’s Take Back Day events provide an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths.

"Too often, unused prescription drugs find their way into the wrong hands. That's dangerous and often tragic,” said Acting DEA Administrator Robert W. Patterson. “That's why it was great to see thousands of folks from across the country clean out their medicine cabinets and turn in - safely and anonymously - a record amount of prescription drugs."

Somerville police will accept pills and patches, but cannot take liquids, needles or sharps. Police ask that all identifying information be removed from bottles.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about the upcoming Take Back Day, go to the DEA Diversion website or contact Cory Mashburn at 617-625-6600 ext. 2570 or cmashburn@somervillema.gov.

Image via DEA