Saturday is Prescription Drug Take-back Day

This Saturday, residents can dispose of unwanted medication safely by bringing it to Port Washington Police District at 500 Port Washington Blvd. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The initiative is a joint effort of Port Washington Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Police say the event gives the public its ninth opportunity in four years to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.

In April, Americans turned in 390 tons (more than 780,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at nearly 6,100 sites operated by the DEA and more than 4,400 of its state and local law enforcement partners. When those results are combined with what was collected in its eight previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners have brought in more than 4.1 million pounds – more than 2,100 tons – of pills.

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue, according to police. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines – flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash – both pose potential safety and health hazards.

The DEA is in the process of approving new regulations that implement the Safe and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” – that is, a patient or their family member or pet owner – of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The act also allows the attorney general to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances.