Many police departments involved in National Take-Back Day A growing problem is what to do with expired, unwanted and unused prescription drugs as well as over the counter drugs. A new program slated for this Saturday will enable you to safely dispose of them. This Saturday, September 25 police stations across the nation will be involved in the Controlled Substance Take-Back Initiative. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s “National Take-Back Day” along with local police departments are giving the opportunity for people to safely dispose of drugs. There are over 3,400 sites involved in this initiative. The times very according to the city. Director of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske, said, “Prescription drug abuse is the Nation’s fastest-growing drug problem, and take-back events like this one are an indispensable tool for reducing the threat that the diversion and abuse of these drugs pose to public health. The Federal/state/and local collaboration represented in this initiative is key in our national efforts to reduce pharmaceutical drug diversion and abuse.” The program is anonymous. Guidelines to be followed are: Controlled, non-controlled and over the counter substances may be collected. Participants may dispose medication in its original container. Labels identifying the patient should be removed. Any type of container is acceptable and various drugs can be put in one container. All liquid products such as cough syrup should remain sealed to prevent leakage. Intravenous solutions and syringes will not be accepted because of the potential hazard posed by blood-borne pathogens. Illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not part of this initiative and should not be placed in collection containers. Some cities will have a container where the medication can be directly put into. I checked with my local police department and they did not state this. To find a collection site click here.
September 25th, 2010