Take Back Day Pulls in 23 Pounds of Drugs in Dormont

This past Saturday, Dormont Police Department collected unwanted drug prescriptions as part of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, an effort between the Drug Enforcement Administration and state and local law agencies to address public safety and health issues.

According to Regina Spaddy, a group supervisor with the state DEA, Dormont police collected roughly 23 pounds of unwanted prescriptions, compared to 54 pounds during the last Take Back Day. Officials took in about 3,018 pounds in Allegheny County and 16,230 pounds state-wide.

Dormont police Chief Richard Dwyer said the program provides residents with a safe way to dispose of drugs they no longer use.

Dwyer noted the environmental risks of flushing prescriptions down the toilet, where some chemicals may linger in the water even after treatment and filtration. Tossing drugs in the trash, he said, isn’t much better.

“It’s a lot better than people throwing them in the garbage, because then you don’t know who’s going to get ahold of them,” he said.

The 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that more than 7 million Americans abuse prescription drugs.  Each day, approximately, 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time, according to the Partnership for a Drug Free America.

Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.

In Dormont, the problem may not be as bad as it is elsewhere, Dwyer said.

“I don’t notice a big problem here in Dormont,” he said. “(But) generally, it is a problem.”

The DEA began developing a permanent means of prescription drug disposal after Congress passed legislation amending the Controlled Substances Act last fall. Until such a program is in place, Take Back Days will be held every six months.