Drop Off Your Unused Prescription Drugs On Saturday

University Place will join a national effort to help stop prescription drug abuse when it offers a spot for anyone to drop off their unused drugs Saturday.

People will be able to drop off their unused drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the University Place Police Department, 3631 Drexler Dr. W.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day was first conducted in September, as federal officials began to recognize the potential dangers that prescription drugs pose to users.

It’s a problem that’s growing.

The Partnership for a Drug Free America found approximately 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time every day. Studies also showed that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.

Some 3,000 state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the first Take-Back Day in September, collecting 121 tons of prescription pills.

University Place Police is no stranger to accepting people’s unused drugs. It offers a permanent drug drop-off box during normal business hours.

For more information, visit the federal Office of Diversion Control’s website.