Nationwide Prescription Drug Take Back Day to be Held October 29 | News

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Nationwide Prescription Drug Take Back Day to be Held October 29

4:48 AM

Contact: Debra Thompson
Director, RMH Corporate Communications
540-564-5886

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and its community partners will hold another nationwide prescription drug take back day from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 29, offering community collection sites where people can dispose of unwanted or unused prescription medications.

Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue because they lead to accidental poisoning, overdose and abuse, according to the DEA. Homes with children or elderly persons are especially vulnerable to the danger and need to take preventive steps, including getting rid of old, unused medications.

The DEA and the Food and Drug Administration discourage people from disposing of unused medications by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the garbage due to potential safety, health and environmental hazards.

Locally, take back sites will be set up in these locations:

Rockingham County Fairgrounds--Near Entrance to Fairgrounds. Coordinated by Rockingham County Sheriff's Office
Waynesboro Walmart--Upper Front Parking Lot. 116 Lucy Lane, Waynesboro. Coordinated by Waynesboro Police Department
Timberville Food Lion. 14054 Timberway, Timberville. Coordinated by Timberville Police Department

Drugs may be left in their original containers or emptied into the bins. After the drugs are collected, they will be incinerated according to federal and state environmental guidelines.

The drugs collected will be in the custody of a law enforcement officer until they are incinerated.

No questions will be asked of anyone about the drugs brought for disposal. The DEA asks that no syringes, marijuana or other street drugs be left at disposal sites.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. More than seven million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. 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.

The DEA, in conjunction with state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, conducted National Prescription Drug Take Back Days on Saturday, September 25, 2010 and April 25, 2011. Nearly, 4,000 state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the nation participated in these events, collecting more than 309 tons of pills.

Four days after the September 2010 Take Back Day, Congress passed legislation amending the Controlled Substances Act to allow the DEA to develop a process for people to safely dispose of their prescription drugs. The DEA immediately began developing this process after President Obama signed the Safe and Secure Drug Disposal Act of 2010 on October 12. Until that process is complete, however, DEA will continue to hold Take Back Days every six months.

For more information, visit www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback.

To learn more about the dangers of prescription and illegal drug abuse, visit GetSmartAboutDrugs.com, a DEA resource website for parents, and JustThinkTwice.com, a site for teens.